News Nuggets | 25 July: Volumes on eToro Charts; Nomura's New eFX Head

CySEC Slams €400K Fine on Goldenburg Group

Cyprus’ securities watchdog has hit online forex and contracts for difference (CFD) provider, Goldenburg Group, with a fine of €400,000 for multiple violations of the country’s financial markets law. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) announced the fine today (Tuesday), adding that the firm also contravened European Union rules on key information documents for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs).

“CySEC found that Goldenburg Group Ltd did not act fairly, honestly and professionally, when providing investment services, in accordance with the best interests of its clients, in regards to the actions/practices of the Company’s employees and/or the employees of the company that was acting as the Company’s marketing agent in the territory of Slovenia,” CySEC explained in a statement.

TradingView Unveils New Improvements to Eurex Futures Data

The charting platform TradingView has updated the futures data of Eurex, the European derivatives exchange, including new adjustments on settlements and prices. On Tuesday, the platform announced that with the latest update, users can switch between the settlement and the last prices as the closing value of their contracts.

Additionally, Eurex now enables users to track the open interest value for the Eurex futures, and one can adjust previous contracts in continuous Eurex futures, the company said. The changes aim to improve the futures market analysis for accuracy and effectiveness.

Barclays Taps Credit Suisse’s Svoronos as Global Co-Head of Industrials

Barclays has appointed Spyros Svoronos as the Global Co-Head of Industrials under the lender’s Investment Banking division. Svoronos will work alongside John Lange and will report to the Co-Heads of Investment Banking, Taylor Wright and Cathal Deasy.

Svoronos joins Barclays from Credit Suisse, where he served as the Global Head of Industrial Group in Investment Banking and Capital Markets. He will reportedly join Barclays’ Investment Banking Management Team and will be based in New York.

Gate.io Upgrades Fiat-to-Crypto Conversion Service

The cryptocurrency exchange platform Gate.io has upgraded its fiat-to-cryptocurrency conversion services. According to the company’s statement released today (Tuesday), the upgrade facilitates the trading of digital assets among institutional investors.

Among the services of the upgraded platform are online US dollar transactions, which enable users to trade USD. Besides that, Gate.io supports offline transactions in EUR, GBP, HKD, SGD, and AUD.

Tom Gould Has Joined Finery Markets

Finery Markets has enlisted Tom Gould as their new Director of Strategic Partnerships, adding to their senior leadership team. With a career spanning 25 years, he took on roles at Bank of America, Credit Suisse, ABN Amro, OKGroup, and LMAX Exchange. As a consequence, Gould is known for his achievements in driving significant growth.

Now in the role of Director, he will leverage his financial industry expertise to lead strategic partnerships and guide the company's growth strategy.

"I am honored to be a part of the Finery Markets team, where I can utilize my extensive expertise to forge impactful alliances and lead the charge in sales. Collaborating with the talented team at Finery Markets, I am eager to employ my skills, professional network, and expertise to achieve extraordinary outcomes," Gould commented.

Worldpay's New Solution: Revenue Boost

Worldpay from FIS has launched Revenue Boost, an innovative machine-learning solution to aid merchants in handling more card-not-present transactions while reducing cost and risk.

This unified payment optimization tool addresses the escalating issue of failed and retried transactions by improving merchants' payment authorization and streamlining costs. One merchant reportedly saw an approval lift worth $7 million during its pilot phase in less than a year.

Carina Kozole Has Been Appointed CRO at N26

The digital bank, N26 announced the appointment of Carina Kozole as their new Chief Risk Officer and Managing Director. With nearly two decades of experience at UniCredit Group, particularly in lending and risk control and as the Head of Credit Risk Operations of HypoVereinsbank, Kozole will assume control of risk management at N26. She will replace Jan Stechele, who retained the role on an interim basis and will remain as the Managing Director, focusing on Anti-Money-Laundering and Compliance.

"I am excited to be coming on board to help build out the future of risk and compliance for one of the most dynamic digital innovators in our industry. Having seen what the team at N26 has achieved over the years, I believe that the company is well placed to deliver customer innovation in a highly regulated space, delivering new solutions that can be best-in-class examples in our sector," Kozole commented.

E6 Has Hired Brian Muse-McKenney as CRO

Episode Six (E6) has announced the appointment of Brian Muse-McKenney as its Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). With extensive international experience in the payments industry and history at HSBC, Muse-McKenney will focus on global growth and expansion of the customer base for E6. Prior to joining E6, he served as the Chief Business Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at HSBC. He also led PayMe to become Hong Kong's top e-wallet provider.

"I know from experience that payments modernization, and the desire to create compelling customer propositions, are pressing needs for banks, fintechs and brands everywhere. Joining E6 as CRO, I am excited to be in the position to solve those needs for customers all around the world," Muse-McKenney commented.

eToro Adds Volumes to Charts

eToro has enhanced its charting component by adding the volume feature. According to the broker, it is one of the most anticipated elements of its platform.

"We understand that volume is a critical component in technical analysis, providing valuable insights into market activity and price movements. That's why we have been working tirelessly to bring this feature to our charts, empowering you with even more comprehensive tools to make informed trading decisions," the broker added to the announcement.

Nomura Gets New Head of eFX Sales for Americas

Natasha Uberoi has recently joined Nomura as the company's Head of eFX Sales for the Americas. Previously, she spent about seven years with the FX Sales team at EBS BrokerTec, as seen on her LinkedIn profile.

Uberoi started her professional career in 2009 as an Analyst at State Street. Later, she joined Barclays Capital as an Associate at BARX Sales and then as the Vice President of FX Sales at Bank of America. She also retained the role of Director of FX Sales at Bats Global Markets.

New Head of Fintech at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., an investment bank and subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings, hired Sean Minnihan as the Managing Director and Head of Financial Technology Investment Banking. It came as a part of the bank's strategy to expand into technology.

"Oppenheimer's continued investment in areas of significant new company formation such as FinTech demonstrates our commitment to connecting the emerging cohorts of value-creating private companies to the highest quality sources of growth capital as well as to larger strategic partners," said Robin Graham, the Head of Technology Investment Banking at Oppenheimer. "Sean Minnihan's expertise and experience will provide valuable insight and service to our clients across the FinTech sector."

Conio Taps Chainalysis

The Italian crypto wallet provider, Conio, has taped the services of Chainalysis to enhance its risk and compliance measures. Conio has integrated cryptocurrency monitoring and investigative solutions offered by Chainalysis.

"The collaboration with Chainalysis demonstrates the commitment that we at Conio make every day to being at the forefront, to providing all our customers, private and institutional, with adequate control of all transactions, always focusing on security," said Orlando Merone, the General Manager of Conio. "We are proud of this collaboration because it again allows us to raise the bar for our entire market."

CLSA Premium Issues Profit Alert

CLSA Premium, which exited the margin dealing business and entered healthcare, expects to generate an unaudited net profit of approximately HK$5.2 million for the first six months of 2023. The company posted a loss of about HK$17.5 million in the corresponding period of 2022.

In the announcement today, the Hong Kong-headquartered company highlighted: "The growth of healthcare products business in the first half of 2023 with revenue from sales of healthcare products of approximately HK$130 million for the six months ended 30 June 2023, as compared with the revenue of approximately HK$8 million for the six months ended 30 June 2022."

Further, the company managed to reduce its expense, contributing to its profits.