Growing use of FX trading algos prompts code of conduct review

The rapid increase in algorithmic trading in the $6.6 trillion a day global currency market has prompted a working group of central banks and private sector participants to review its code of conduct for the industry.

Electronic trading, with a particular focus on using high-powered algorithms, has become the mainstay of the broadly opaque foreign exchange market, accounting for more than 80% of trades on some platforms, according to market analysts.

The rapid growth of such strategies has seen market participants blame them for increasing occurrences of mysterious "flash crashes", where market prices can swing wildly within the space of seconds.

The Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC), established in 2017 to bring together central banks and the private sector to promote transparency in FX markets, said the increasing use of algorithmic execution warranted a review of its existing guidance in this area.

In a statement released at the conclusion of the first day of a two-day conference in Sydney, the GFXC also said it would try to boost the adoption rate of the global code of conduct among money managers. While the code has been widely accepted by banks, adoption rates among buy-side participants have lagged.

"One thing we are going to amp up, which a few jurisdictions have done, is to put more of the onus on the local foreign exchange committee to engage with their large buyside participants," said Guy Debelle, GFXC chairperson and a deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia.