FX Market Fragmentation

New numbers out of TABB Group (Westborough, Mass.) indicate that the foreign exchange market is following the lead of equities and becoming increasingly fragmented. While large, multinational banks have, in the past, held most of the market, the increasing availability of faster, nontraditional venues -- such as FXAll, Currenex and HotspotFX -- has begun to bite into their market share, the research and advisory firm says.

Bank platforms continue to dominate buy-side order flow, however, capturing 46 percent of total orders, according to TABB Group. But the sell side currently favors independent platforms such as EBS, Reuters and Bloomberg, which account for 27 percent of total sell-side orders.