FXCM Inc becomes Global Brokerage Inc, FXCM UK CEO takes over as FXCM Group Interim CEO
FXCM Inc is changing its name and unveils board reshuffle, but will this be enough to rewrite history and turn the tables?
As FinanceFeeds forecast earlier today, February 21st brought a raft of announcements from FXCM Inc (NASDAQ:FXCM), as the regulatory decision to ban the broker and three of its principals from NFA and CFTC membership came into effect.
Interestingly, one of the moves by FXCM Inc is to change its name – FXCM Inc is set to become Global Brokerage, Inc. and the trading ticker symbol will change to “GLBR”, effective at the opening of trading on February 27, 2017. FXCM’s Common Stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Market and the new CUSIP will be 37891B109. This is an apparent attempt by the US broker to start anew but sometimes a new name does not suffice.
As expected, in line with regulatory orders, William Ahdout is resigning from his position as a Director on FXCM’s Board of Directors, with the move effective immediately.
Drew Niv has resigned as a Director and Chairman of the Board of FXCM effective immediately, with his resignation as Chief Executive Officer to be effective upon the selection and appointment of a successor.
In a separate announcement, FXCM said Brendan Callan is promoted to interim Chief Executive Officer of FXCM Group. Mr Callan has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of European Operations since 2010.
Mr. Bryan I. Reyhani will be the Chairman of FXCM’s Board of Directors.
One more appointment – Jimmy Hallac has been named Chairman of FXCM Group. Mr Hallac is a Managing Director of Leucadia National Corporation, which came to the rescue of FXCM following the unpegging of the Swiss Franc by the Swiss National Bank in January 2015, and holds a significant interest in FXCM Group.
As a result of the changes, the six-member Board of Directors of FXCM Group consists of Mr. Hallac, Rich Handler, CEO of Leucadia, Brian Friedman, President of Leucadia, David Sakhai, Chief Operating Officer of Global Brokerage, Inc., Robert Lande, Chief Financial Officer of Global Brokerage, Inc., and Kenneth Grossman, Managing Director of Global Brokerage, Inc.
The announcements pave the way for more questions. We have yet to see how the renamed FXCM Inc will be regulated and what its operations will consist of. Thus far, we know that Global Brokerage, Inc. owns an equity interest in FXCM Group. And then there is the question of the future of the rest FXCM Group. Will the name of FXCM’s non-US business change too as a result of the change of the publicly traded name of FXCM Inc? What about their management?
