On 4 December 2019, the Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC) published a press release setting out its priorities for updating the FX Global Code (the Code).

Following the first day of its two-day meeting held in Sydney on 4-5 December, the GFXC discussed the feedback received on the Code and agreed to focus its work on the following areas:

• buy-side outreach: the GFXC intends to publish materials from its working group on buy-side outreach in 2020. The GFXC recognises that further work remains to be done to gain greater adherence to the code amongst the buy-side;
• anonymous trading: the working group on disclosures highlighted several areas where additional guidance in the code might be appropriate. This includes usage of tags or unique identifiers and the roles and responsibilities of the different market participants;
• disclosures: the GFXC is in the process of setting up a working group to focus on ways to increase the adoption of more effective disclosures;
• algorithmic trading and Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA): the GFXC agrees that the increasing usage of algorithmic execution warrants a review of the Code’s existing guidance in this area. It will also consider how guidance around TCA could be incorporated into the Code; and
• execution principles: the GFXC discussed extensive feedback on various execution principles in the Code, particularly those dealing with pre-hedging and last look. The GFXC agreed that there was a clear need to respond to this feedback.

The working groups are expected to produce explanatory material to market participant on the Code’s guidance in these areas. The GFXC will also consider modifications to the wording of the principles.