Multi-bank foreign exchange portal Atriax is to cease operations after seventeen months of trading, following unsuccessful merger discussions with other platforms.
In a smart piece of news management, Atriax quietly slipped news of its demise to the London marketplace late on a slow Friday afternoon. An independent company, Atriax had been backed by Citibank, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and Reuters. Despite having gained over seventy member banks, it appears Atriax could see no future for itself.
The portal, which was established to facilitate electronic trading of foreign exchange between banks and clients, says client feedback indicated they wanted to access all their banks' liquidity through a single point.
According to its own announcement, Atriax had been exploring several strategic options to enhance liquidity, including merger with other platforms, but failed to agree a suitable deal. It was also unable to identify any workable alternative that would secure its long-term survival.
The platform will be kept open for a short period of time so that Atriax's clients can transition to other sources of liquidity, including bank proprietary systems and other e-marketplaces.
Citibank, one of the four founder members of Atriax alongside JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and Reuters, is expected to join rival multibank venture FXall later this week. JPMorgan Chase already has a stake in FXall, while Deutsche Bank is expected to direct liquidity towards the portal.
The collapse of Atriax leaves FXall with a free run at independent operator Currenex and State Street's FX Connect operation.