FXCM changes company name; appoints interim CEO

Global Brokerage

21/02/2017 17:29

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss 
    NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Embattled U.S. currency broker 
FXCM Inc  FXCM.O  said on Tuesday it has changed its company 
name to Global Brokerage Inc, two weeks after it had been 
ordered by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to cease 
operations in the United States for fraud. 
    In a statement, FXCM said it will also change its ticker 
symbol to GLBR. The change in the company name and ticker is 
effective Feb. 27. 
    The company also announced the promotion of Brendan Callan 
to interim chief executive officer, replacing Drew Niv, who 
resigned from the firm. Niv also resigned as director of FXCM 
Group. 
    FXCM was banned earlier this month by the CFTC from doing 
business in the United States for betting against its customers 
in trades. The commission also ordered Forex Capital Markets, 
its parent FXCM Holdings LLC and founding partners Drew Niv and 
William Ahdout to pay $7 million to settle charges it had 
defrauded retail foreign exchange customers. 
    Niv and Ahdout were also banned from acting a principal, 
agent, officer, or employee of any person or firm that is 
required to be registered, or exempted from registration with 
the CFTC. 
    Ahdout has also resigned as director of the FXCM Group 
board. 
    Callan, who joined in 2001, has been the CEO and president 
of the European operations since 2010, a period during which 
Forex Capital Markets Limited or FXCM UK became the group's 
largest operating subsidiary. 
    FXCM also announced Jimmy Halac has been appointed chairman 
of FXCM Group. Hallac is managing director of Leucadia National 
Corp  LUK.N , which rescued FXCM with a roughly $200 million 
loan after the Swiss National Bank unpegged the Swiss franc from 
the euro in January 2015.  
    Leucadia holds a significant interest in FXCM Group.  
    "Brendan and Jimmy share our deep commitment to always 
putting clients first, maintaining and building a culture of 
transparency, communication and support among employees, and 
responding to the needs and goals of all relevant 
constituencies, including FXCM's customers, employees, 
regulators, business partners and equity owners," said Rich 
Handler and Brian Friedman, Leucadia's CEO and president, 
respectively. 
    Sources also told Reuters that FXCM employees say staff in 
London have been told to seek new employment and that the 
company plans to move out of its current location in the heart 
of the City of London.  
    In midday trading, FXCM was down 1.7 percent at $2.85. Since 
the CFTC's decision on Feb. 6, the stock has lost nearly 58 
percent of its value. 
 
 (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by 
Patrick Graham in London; Editing by Marguerita Choy) 
 ((gertrude.chavez@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6322; Reuters 
Messaging: rm://gertrude.chavez.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: FXCM FOREX/