Minutes of the London FXJSC Operations Sub-Committee Meeting - 18 June 2025

Minutes

Item 1: Welcome and Apologies

James Kaye (Chair, HSBC) welcomed observers Neil Buchan (Swift), Graham Bird (Deutsche Bank), Alison Kett (Bank of England) and Sarah Boyce (Association of Corporate Treasurers). The Chair also welcomed guest presenters John Yeo, Stephanie Haffner, and Micah Smith (Bank for International Settlements), Yi Wei Chai, Rajan Patel (Bank of England), and Andrew Harvey (Global Foreign Exchange Division. New members Andrew Cooper (CLS) and Rebecca Fishwick (Barclays) were also welcomed.

The Chair noted apologies from Claire Foster Lee (Morgan Stanley), Gail Smith (RBC) and Andrew Grice (Bank of England).

Item 2: Minutes of the February Meeting and Feedback from the March Main FXJSC Committee Meeting

The minutes from the 26 February 2024 meeting were agreed. The Chair provided an overview of the March Main Committee meeting^{footnote [1]}, noting that members had discussed recent developments in the FX market, including market functioning during elevated periods of volatility. The Main Committee examined the use of the WM/R 4pm FX benchmark and how it had evolved over time.

Item 3: Recent FX Market Conditions

Members discussed FX market conditions since the previous meeting, noting that there had been a significant increase in volatility and trade volumes. Despite the increased trade volumes, settlement had continued to operate as expected, with no notable increase in trade failures. Members agreed that the recent period of market volatility had served as a strong example of the FX market’s ability to manage sustained surges in volume.

Item 4: Meridian FX Presentation

John Yeo, Stephanie Haffner, and Micah Smith (Bank for International Settlements), and Yi Wei Chai and Rajan Patel (Bank of England) presented an update Project Meridian FX. It was noted that the project explored the settlement of FX transactions across borders, using synchronised payment-versus-payment (PvP) mechanisms. By connecting real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems with distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), the project demonstrated the feasibility of atomic settlement. Members discussed the practicalities of the Project, including scalability and governance.

Item 5: Review of committee communications around systemic issues

Members discussed the FXJSC Operations Committee’s communication processes during systemic market issues, particularly in instances where the Cross Market Business Continuity Group (CMBCG) had not convened. Members discussed the decision-making process for convening the Committee and emphasised the importance of a single, authoritative source of information for FX market participants. The discussion included considerations around the location, timing, and dissemination of such information.

Item 6: Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC) update

Natalie Lovell (Bank of England) provided a high-level overview of the agenda for the July GFXC meeting in Singapore. Ms Lovell noted that updates would be provided by the FX Settlement, FX Data, and FX Global Code Adherence GFXC Working Groups. The agenda would also include panel discussions on stablecoins, FX market liquidity, FX derivatives benchmarks, IOSCO’s pre-hedging consultation, and strategies to raise awareness of the FX Global Code.

Item 7: CLS Update

Andrew Cooper (CLS) reported that in April 2025 CLS had recorded record volumes in both its CLS Settlement and CLSNet services. Mr Cooper also provided an overview of CLSNet Plus, an extension of the existing netting service that would initially be targeted to provide multilateral netting and payment orchestration for 3 currencies.

Item 8: Swift Update

Joe Halberstadt (Swift) informed members that from November 2026, Swift would remove the option to use unstructured postal addresses in its CBPR+ ISO20022 messages for cross-border payments. From then onwards, hybrid postal addresses will need to include a structured Town and Country, as a minimum. This would impact FX settlements too, so a change request has been submitted for Category 3 messages, including the MT 300, to align with hybrid postal addresses. Mr Halberstadt also noted that the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) was updating its FX definitions, and Swift would assess the implications of the updates on its messaging standards.

Item 9: Global Foreign Exchange Division (GFXD) Update

Steve Forrest (UBS) provided an update from the June GFXD Operations Committee meeting. Mr Forrest noted that the discussion had focused on GFXD’s priorities for 2026, including intraday liquidity, cyber resilience, manual buy-side processes, and efficiencies in Standard Settlement Instructions.

Item 10: FCA Update

Oliver McCausland (FCA) noted that the FCA recently closed its discussion paper on enhancing the UK transaction reporting regime, which explored ways to improve data quality and reduce reporting burdens. Among the topics, it sought input on challenges firms face when reporting FX derivatives. The FCA is now reviewing the feedback to shape a consultative approach to reform, including FX derivatives reporting. Meanwhile, it remains open to receiving further views on FX reporting challenges under MiFIR or EMIR.

Attendees

Aaron Mills – Citadel
Andrew Cooper – CLS
Anna Chadderton – Goldman Sachs
Daniel Hoye – Natwest Markets
Fiona Maria O’Riordan – Citi
Gary Cunningham – Insight Investment
James Andrews – JP Morgan
James Hull – MillTech FX
James Kaye (chair) – HSBC
Joe Halberstadt – SWIFT
Loic Moreau – LSEG
Nimit Jobanputra – Deutsche Bank
Nikki Woodley – Northern Trust
Oliver McCausland – FCA
Rebecca Fishwick – Barclays
Steve Forrest – UBS
Kerry Peacock (deputy chair) – MUFG

Alternates

Aparna Shrivastava – Morgan Stanley

FXJSC Secretariat

Eleanor Garrett – Bank of England
Joe Hanrahan – Bank of England
Matthew Hartley (Legal Representative) – Bank of England
Natalie Lovell – Bank of England

Guest attendees

Alison Kett – Bank of England
Andrew Harvey – GFXD
Graham Bird – Deutsche Bank
Micah Smith – Bank for International Settlements
Neil Buchan – Swift
Rajan Patel – Bank of England
Sarah Boyce – Association of Corporate Treasurers
Stephanie Haffner – Bank for International Settlements
Yi Wei Chai – Bank of England

Apologies

Andrew Grice – Bank of England
Gail Smith (Deputy Chair) – RBC
Claire Foster Lee – Morgan Stanley