FXCM, one of the largest U.S. retail foreign-exchange broker, lost more than $200 million after the Swiss central bank's Jan. 15 decision to lift the peg on the Swiss franc. Within days, they received a $300 million bailout from Leucadia National Corp., owner of investment bank Jefferies Group LLC, which helped prevent FXCM from violating capital requirements.
Yesterday FXCM agreed to forgive approximately 90% of its clients who incurred negative balances in certain areas. However, it will continue to demand repayment from institutional and high-net-worth customers who lost more money than they had in their accounts and who FXCM holds responsible for close to 60 percent of the brokerage's losses.
"?FXCM worked diligently to reach this decision and we are extremely appreciative of our clients for their patience and loyalty as we worked through this," Drew Niv, FXCM's chief executive officer, said in the statement.
These moves by FXCM should bring a feeling of confidence and trust to individual retail brokers who rely on the company to meet their needs.