Foreign Exchange Dealers Coalition (FXDC)

What Was the Foreign Exchange Dealers Coalition (FXDC)?

The Foreign Exchange Dealers Coalition (FXDC) was a short-lived professional alliance composed of the nine largest U.S. foreign exchange dealers, in existence from 2007-2010.

Understanding Foreign Exchange Dealers Coalition

The Foreign Exchange Dealers Coalition (FXDC) was formed in 2007 and is made up of nine major foreign exchange (FX) dealers. Its goal was to create awareness and recognition of forex dealers and their views regarding regulation implementation in the industry. Foreign exchange dealers taking part in the coalition attempted to use their collective power to influence the industry. The FXDC ceased operations in 2010.

The forex markets were largely unregulated until the passing of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. The FXDC became involved with proposals addressing major regulatory changes in the forex industry, notably regulatory changes put forth by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It aimed to do this by protecting the interests of investors while ensuring there was no disruption to business activities.

The commission announced changes in regulation following the passing of two key laws that were passed by Congress.

1. CFTC Reauthorization Act of 2008. Some of the key provisions to the act included a new category to register retail forex dealers, the application of the commission's anti-fraud authority to specific retail off-exchange forex transactions, and minimum capital requirements for retail forex dealers
2. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Production Act of 2010. Dodd-Frank required that all off-exchange retail forex transactions be conducted according to federal agency regulations. Other requirements referred to disclosures and recordkeeping, reporting, and documentation.

Other Considerations

The FXDC also addressed mandatory registration required by the CFTC through the National Futures Association (NFA) for retail foreign exchange dealers (RFEDs), futures commission merchants (FCMs), forex commodity pool operators (CPOs), and commodity trade advisors (CTAs).

Adopting these regulatory changes was important to the CFTC in order to protect the American public from retail foreign exchange fraud. The FXDC objected, saying the new rules would put an undue burden on and stifle the foreign exchange industry.