Citigroup Inc. started operating its first U.S. online currency trading platform Tuesday for individuals and small hedge funds, one of the fastest-growing segments of the foreign exchange market.
U.S. investors can trade more than 130 currency pairs on the CitiFX Pro system, the New York company said.
Citi, the world's third-biggest currency trader, said it created the system with Saxo Bank A/S, an online banking company based in Copenhagen, and will introduce the platform in other parts of the world "over the next few months." The two companies announced plans to develop the trading system in November. At least $10,000 is required to open an account on the system, according to a Web site for the platform. Daily spot trading among retail investors is about $100 billion, which "makes it a very substantial business," said Sanjay Madgavkar, Citi's global head of foreign-exchange margin trading in New York.
