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  • #6,841
  • Jan 29, 2015 3:23pm Jan 29, 2015 3:23pm
Quoting Outplay555
Hi there. Are there still people out here with negative balances in their FXCM accounts? Mine are still not cleared, which seems to end in a legal battle with FXCM...
Hi, which country did you register your account at and are you a retail client?
  • #6,842
  • Jan 29, 2015 3:46pm Jan 29, 2015 3:46pm
Quoting tim10167
{quote} Hi, which country did you register your account at and are you a retail client?
Hey tim10167. I registered in Switzerland and I'm a retail client, but with higher balances (smaller 6-digit number).
  • #6,843
  • Jan 29, 2015 3:54pm Jan 29, 2015 3:54pm
Quoting esprit
Jason, Can you explicitly state the current terms under which we would be trading? I think before opening a trade it would be now required to know if we are to expect to not be liable in case of a negative balance. This is really a question that any new client should have, and for that matter anyone trading with you. I ask this because honestly I have absoluetly no idea where we stand right now on this, and frankly thus I have zero way to understand my risk while trading with you. I would like to know the terms under which I am trading at present....

I will give you my take on the situation. This is the email that @dav75 posted on the previous page (post 6818)

"Dear Client,
FXCM has important news regarding your account(s): Your debit balance(s) resulting from the January 15, 2015 Swiss National Bank announcement that they will no longer support a self-imposed floor on the EUR/CHF exchange rate, has been forgiven.

Please Note: This does not release you from any other obligations, terms, or conditions of your master trading agreement with FXCM. FXCM hereby reserves all rights and remedies that it may have at law, in equity, and under the terms of any contracts with you. Nothing herein shall be considered an admission of any fact or wrongdoing whatsoever. These actions taken by FXCM here under are a one-time courtesy and are not to be construed as establishing any future course of conduct."

See how they say "This does not release you from any other obligations, terms, or conditions of your master trading agreement with FXCM." So, this is where you have to look at and I bet you it is where you will find the Force Majeure Clause. In this case, if future "Act of God" occurs, you may need to reimburse FXCM if they ask you to.
Another important thing is the line "your debit balance....had been forgiven". FXCM did not say anything like "your debit balance was erased due to our no debit policy" in effect implying you were responsible for the loss but they decided not to pursue you for the money. As they stated clearly at the end "These actions taken by FXCM here under are a one-time courtesy and are not to be construed as establishing any future course of conduct." So, it seems pretty clear that you may be liable for future negative balances.
I also recommend you to read their Risk Disclosure and see if they revised it after the SNB debacle or just contact them and request the latest legally binding documents.
  • #6,844
  • Jan 29, 2015 4:38pm Jan 29, 2015 4:38pm
Quoting Outplay555
{quote} Hey tim10167. I registered in Switzerland and I'm a retail client, but with higher balances (smaller 6-digit number).
Hi Outplay. Firstly, I think FXCM's statement is fraud because if FXCM were a honest company, they should distinguish what they will or will not claim by whether the client is a retail or sophisticated client, not client's worth. Because In many countries the government regulatory body has a totally different regulation for the retail clients. For example I am based in Australia, our regulatory entity has a very strict regulation on financial institutions doing business with retail clients. In my country, it is obvious that FXCM had committed a public lie with those no negative balance advertisment. And they also have the responsibility to conduct appropriate risk management to protect retail client's capital. My general understanding is that Europ has stricter laws to protect retail client. And i recommend you should first submit a musconduct report to your regulatory body in Switzerland.
  • #6,845
  • Jan 29, 2015 4:49pm Jan 29, 2015 4:49pm
Lot's of bashing going on here and a lot of it is warranted based on what has gone down lately. However, I made a small withdrawal via wire today to cover some bills and the money hit my bank account same day. Usually takes at least 3 and sometimes 5 days so was quite surprised. Just thought I'd pass on for those wondering how the events of the past few weeks may have affected your ability to get your cash!
  • #6,846
  • Jan 29, 2015 4:49pm Jan 29, 2015 4:49pm
Quoting tim10167
{quote} Hi Outplay. Firstly, I think FXCM's statement is fraud because if FXCM were a honest company, they should distinguish what they will or will not claim by whether the client is a retail or sophisticated client, not client's worth. Because In many countries the government regulatory body has a totally different regulation for the retail clients. For example I am based in Australia, our regulatory entity has a very strict regulation on financial institutions doing business with retail clients. In my country, it is obvious that FXCM had committed...
Hi outplayThe misconduct by FXCM toward retail client is very obvious in many jurisdiction. Collect all the evidence you can and let your government drive FXCM out of business.
  • #6,847
  • Edited 6:51pm Jan 29, 2015 6:06pm | Edited 6:51pm
I felt really sick by FXCM's latest negative balance statement because they seem to still wanting to chase retail clients who have high net worth. This is a clearly breach of regulatory law in many jurisdiction where the law clearly differentiate the different requirements by financial institutions in handeling retail or Institutional clients. Government set different regulations for retail clients is for the purpose to protect many mum and pop unprofessional clients like most of us in this forum. FXCM has to comply to law, not decided by the clien't net worth. This shows how a fraud company FXCM is.
  • #6,848
  • Jan 29, 2015 6:39pm Jan 29, 2015 6:39pm
Quoting Magix
{quote} So many reasons for a stock to fall these days...any trader perspective would most certainly be welcomed... {image}
I just did a quick finance review of FXCM in regards to the stock.

Sept. 2014 profit of $7.3 million/quarter so $29 million a year & maybe more now that they've switched to commission & have more customers after buying FXDD & IBFX.

$262 million in stockholder equity @ end of Sept. 2014. Subtracting $225 million leaves not much :-)

So if FXCM is trying to recover 60% of negative balance that's $135 million.
Trade loss of $225 million minus $135 million = $90 million total loss from Swissy mess.
So for Leucadia to fund them with $300 million, they could be repaid in approx. 4-5 years if all goes well with the 60% recovery and they don't lose too many customers so they can continue profit of $29 million/year. (not very likely IMHO)
If not, Leaucadia gets 50% of a sale of the company so very important for FXCM to keep as many customers as possible even if it takes a hit on the negative balance. Without the customers the company is worthless. Many U.S. customers will stay though as they have very few alternatives unless they go out-of-country.

I can understand the lack of response from Jason regarding some of the questions but not sure why he didn't just state that from the beginning so everyone would understand the "insider information" situation with a public company. As for insiders selling, very unlikely as any trading would be HIGHLY scrutinized by regulators.

Just my 5 minute review of the situation so not 100% accurate. I'm trying to buy a calendar spread in FXCM stock :-)
  • #6,849
  • Jan 29, 2015 7:00pm Jan 29, 2015 7:00pm
Fxcm still thinks they don't have a no-debit-balance policy that is clearly stipulated, among many, on page 29 of their product disclosure statement (in australia at least).

Even if we had the money to HELP them cover neg balances, itd be more worth spending it for lawyers to expose their behavior...

What force majeur lol...come on...other brokers saw it coming....plus to be a force majeur, it needs to be determined by the court...let them take this to a court if they want itd be a good show..

Though i doubt they want the court to do anythinh with this based on their no-debit-balance policy.
  • #6,850
  • Jan 29, 2015 7:42pm Jan 29, 2015 7:42pm
They send lients an email forgiving balances and you still have a bunch of paranoia and panic. Nothing will make some people happy.

Quoting william17
{quote} I will give you my take on the situation. This is the email that @dav75 posted on the previous page (post 6818) "Dear Client, FXCM has important news regarding your account(s): Your debit balance(s) resulting from the January 15, 2015 Swiss National Bank announcement that they will no longer support a self-imposed floor on the EUR/CHF exchange rate, has been forgiven. Please Note: This does not release you from any other obligations, terms, or conditions...
  • #6,851
  • Jan 29, 2015 7:58pm Jan 29, 2015 7:58pm
Guys, just noticed a friend of mine who is a FXCM's Australian retail client just received an emil from FXCM claiming negative balance with a deadline of early February. This happened 24 hours after the negative balance announcement. FXCM is lying to the public again. Lets work together and drive this fraud company out of business in Australia.
  • #6,852
  • Jan 29, 2015 8:08pm Jan 29, 2015 8:08pm
Quoting tim10167
Guys, just noticed a friend of mine who is a FXCM's Australian retail client just received an emil from FXCM claiming negative balance with a deadline of early February. This happened 24 hours after the negative balance announcement. FXCM is lying to the public again. Lets work together and drive this fraud company out of business in Australia.
Got any evidence or just hearsay from your "friend"? I hope you're not lying because if you are you're committing a crime.
  • #6,853
  • Jan 29, 2015 8:14pm Jan 29, 2015 8:14pm
Quoting Kanzler
{quote} Got any evidence or just hearsay from your "friend"? I hope you're not lying because if you are you're committing a crime.
I got hard evidence. It was an email sent by FXCM few hours ago. But I need to check whether my friend is welling to post the letter on this forum
  • #6,854
  • Jan 29, 2015 8:16pm Jan 29, 2015 8:16pm
Quoting tim10167
{quote} I got hard evidence. It was an email sent by FXCM few hours ago. But I need to check whether my friend is welling to post the letter on this forum
Alright.
  • #6,855
  • Jan 29, 2015 8:22pm Jan 29, 2015 8:22pm
IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING YOUR FXCM TRADING ACCOUNT(S): XXXXXXXX


Dear XXX,
Please be advised that you currently hold a negative balance of (USD XXX) in your FXCM account(s). The terms of your master trading agreement entered into with FXCM, available on FXCM’s website; provide FXCM with the right to collect this negative balance plus interests and costs. We request that you remit funds immediately in order to eliminate your negative balance.
In this situation, FXCM will accept deposit by bank wire, which can be facilitated via thewww.myfxcm.comportal.
NEXT STEPS
Accordingly, FXCM demands that you pay your negative balance by February 5, 2015. Should you fail to pay your negative balance, FXCM will not hesitate to initiate any and all civil proceedings available to recover your deficit plus interest and costs.
If you have any questions, or wish to arrange payment, please contact us by calling +1 (646) 432-2957, or by e-mail [email protected].
If you do not respond by February 5, 2015, FXCM may start proceedings against you and may increase your liability for costs.
FXCM hereby reserves, on behalf of itself and its affiliates under common control, all rights and remedies that it may have at law, in equity, under the terms of any agreement between FXCM or any of its affiliates and you. Nothing in this letter shall be deemed to constitute a waiver of any of FXCM's rights and remedies.
Your cooperation is appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
FXCM Legal Department
  • #6,856
  • Jan 29, 2015 8:24pm Jan 29, 2015 8:24pm
Jason, is this email valid? If so I'm more than a little disappointed.

Quoting tim10167
IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING YOUR FXCM TRADING ACCOUNT(S): XXXXXXXX Dear XXX, Please be advised that you currently hold a negative balance of (USD XXX) in your FXCM account(s). The terms of your master trading agreement entered into with FXCM, available on FXCM’s website; provide FXCM with the right to collect this negative balance plus interests and costs. We request that you remit funds immediately in order to eliminate your negative balance. In this situation, FXCM will accept deposit by bank wire, which can be facilitated via thewww.myfxcm.comportal....
  • #6,857
  • Jan 29, 2015 8:25pm Jan 29, 2015 8:25pm
Ouch, so it looks like your friend is one of the 10% of negative balance accounts that FXCM have said they will target for recovery.

Is there any indication of what criteria they have used to make this choice?
  • #6,858
  • Jan 29, 2015 8:26pm Jan 29, 2015 8:26pm
Got permission from my friend to post his email. He received this notice from FXCM 24 hours after FXCM announced to forgave client's negative balance. FXCM is a big lye. My friend is a genuine RETAIL client in Australia who protected by ASIC's retail regulation. FXCM treat their retail clients as institutions and breach the law publicly
  • #6,859
  • Edited 9:38pm Jan 29, 2015 8:30pm | Edited 9:38pm
I here tell everyone from my friend's situation above. FXCM will go after anyone who they think is worth it. They wont give a shxx to retail regulatory law in different jurisdiction. Australian is like UK where retail client's law is extremely strict and FXCM had clearly breached the law. What a joke announcement. I urge all people to fight back and protect your right
  • #6,860
  • Jan 29, 2015 8:31pm Jan 29, 2015 8:31pm
Tim,

I'm based in australia too.

Tell your friend to pull up fxcm product disclosure statement,pg. 29. On that page youll find that fxcm clearly states their no-debit-balance policy during volatile period.

Tell asic too.

Let us know how he goes.
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