Interactive Brokers retail FX deposits rise 23% in April
Retail currency deposits at U.S. brokerages, which are struggling to turn a profit in a tight regulatory environment, fell in April 2022 by $9 million, according to CFTC data.
Brokers, including FCMs registered as retail forex brokers (RFEDs) and those included as brokers, saw a collective negative change in customer deposits month-over-month starting in March, although the differences between each broker were more pronounced.
Specifically, FX funds held in registered brokerages operating in the United States totaled $496 million in April 2022, down 2% from the $505 million reported in March.
The newest comer to the US forex industry, Trading.com Markets, continues to take a larger share of all retail funds, but on a very limited scale. The broker racked up $142,000 in customer deposits in April, up from just $46,000 a month earlier.
The US arm of the forex brand XM provides retail foreign exchange services to US traders in a difficult regulatory environment that has squeezed other providers out of this market. Trading.com first applied for a forex broker license in the United States in January 2019. However, the company still has a long way to go to challenge GAIN Capital and Oanda, who control almost 70% of the retail market. American. .
Other highlights from the CFTC’s monthly report show that Interactive Brokers LLC (NASDAQ:IBKR) has accumulated $24 million in total deposits. That was up 23% from $20 million the previous month.
After consecutive increases in market share, GAIN Capital suffered a sharp decline in retail deposits in April 2022. Specifically, net balances at the largest US retail FX broker fell by $5.2 million, or 3%, to reach $193 million.
Meanwhile, in April, Oanada saw a bigger drop of nearly $7 million, while retail funds at IG US fell $220,000 million.
Additionally, Charles Schwab reported some minor changes in customer deposits, falling $889,000 or 1% month over month.
The table below shows the full list of all FCMs that held retail Forex bonds during the month ending April 30, 2022. For comparison purposes, numbers have been included against their March 2022 counterparts to illustrate the differences.
