The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting report, stating that leading electronic broker ICAP-EBSÂ plans to scrap the fifth decimal place on its currency quotes and introduce half-pip pricing ahead of wide-ranging changes to its system.
This appears to be the first major move to be made by newly-installed EBS CEO Gil Mandelzis, to repair EBS’s relationship with its core group of bank clients, while at the same time making it more difficult for high frequency traders to maintain a trading advantage.
As we reported recently, EBS seems to have lost market share to other Forex ECNs such as Hotspot FX and FXall, with other new startups such as Tradition’s traFXpure and the FXCM-Credit Suisse joint venture FastMatch taking clear aim at EBS’s market position.
Another interesting analysis of this move at EBS can be seen at the Currensee blog.
For more on the global FX market see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.