LBMA Makes Morgan Stanley Unit a Market Maker

Reuters reported that the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) has made Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc “a spot and options market-making member.” The firm is a unit of investment bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).

The move is interesting given that some banks have been eager to exit that arena “due to stringent regulations.”

As quoted in the market news:

Currently, LBMA has 13 market makers which serve in either one, two or all three of the spot, options and forwards markets. They make markets by quoting two-way prices in both gold and silver products to other market makers.

Just three weeks ago, LBMA named Citigroup as a spot market-making member.

With the exception of Morgan Stanley and Citi, other global banks have mostly reduced exposure to gold and silver trading, driven by increased scrutiny of precious metals ‘fixes’ by European and U.S. watchdogs in the wake of benchmark manipulation in other financial markets.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.