The World's Best Foreign Exchange Banks of 2007

With an estimated $3 trillion changing hands on a daily basis, the foreign exchange market is by far the biggest market in the world. Cross-border capital and trade flows and international travel create a growing need for foreign exchange services. Electronic trading has enabled a faster, more accurate

market to develop, while currency portfolios have emerged as an asset class in their own right. Meanwhile, more developing countries are becoming active in global markets and in the world financial system.

The best foreign exchange banks are those institutions that provide fast, reliable and cost-effective services to global businesses and investors, as well as advice and innovative products to meet the specific needs of their increasingly diverse range of customers. Global Finance selected Deutsche Bank as the global winner. We also chose the leading foreign exchange banks in 79 countries and regions, as well as the best online foreign exchange trading systems, both bank-owned and independent, and the best bank for foreign exchange research.

With input from industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts, Global Finance editors selected the winners based on objective and subjective factors. Our criteria included transaction volume, market share, global coverage, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative products and technology.

GLOBAL AND REGIONAL WINNERS

GLOBAL WINNER

Deutsche Bank

REGIONAL WINNERS

NORTH AMERICA: Citigroup

LATIN AMERICA: Citigroup

WESTERN EUROPE: Deutsche Bank (Honorable Mention: Barclays Capital and UBS)

CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE: UniCredit Group

SCANDINAVIA: Handelsbanken Capital Markets

MIDDLE EAST: Ahli United Bank

AFRICA: Standard Bank

ASIA-PACIFIC: HSBC

SOUTHEAST ASIA: DBS

WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE BANKS 2007

COUNTRY WINNERS

ARGENTINA: Citigroup

ARMENIA: Converse Bank

AUSTRALIA: Westpac Banking

AUSTRIA: UniCredit Group

BAHRAIN: AhIi United Bank

BELARUS: Priorbank

BELGIUM: Fords Bank

BRAZIL: Banco do Brasil

CANADA: Scotia Capital

CHILE: Banco de Chile

CHINA: Bank of China

COLOMBIA: Bancolombia

COSTA RICA: Scotia Capital

CZECH REPUBLIC: Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka (CSOB)

DENMARK: Danske Bank

ECUADOR: Citigroup

EGYPT: Commercial International Bank

EL SALVADOR: Citigroup

ESTONIA: Hansabank

FRANCE: BNP Paribas

GAMBIA: Standard Chartered Bank (Gambia)

GEORGIA: Bank of Georgia

GERMANY: Deutsche Bank

GREECE: National Bank of Greece

GUATEMALA: Banco Industrial

HONG KONG: HSBC

HUNGARY: OTP Bank

INDIA: ICICI Bank

ISRAEL: Bank Hapoalim

ITALY: UniCredit Group

JAMAICA: National Commercial Bank

JAPAN: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG)

JORDAN: Arab Bank

KAZAKHSTAN: Kazkommertsbank

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait

LATVIA: Parex banka

LEBANON: BLOM Bank

LITHUANIA: SEBVilniaus Bankas

MALAYSIA: HSBC Malaysia Berhad

MEXICO: Banamex

MOLDOVA: Victoriabank

THE NETHERLANDS: ABN AMRO

NEW ZEALAND: ANZ

NIGERIA: First Bank of Nigeria

NORWAY: DnB NOR

OMAN: BankMuscat

PAKISTAN: National Bank of Pakistan

PERU: Citigroup

POLAND: Bank BPH

PORTUGAL: Millennium bcp

QATAR: Qatar National Bank

RUSSIA: MDM Bank

SAUDI ARABIA: Samba

SINGAPORE: DBS

SLOVAKIA: Tatra Banka

SLOVENIA: Nova Ljubljanska Banka

SOUTH AFRICA: Standard Bank

SOUTH KOREA: Korea Exchange Bank

SPAIN: Grupo Santander

SWEDEN: Handelsbanken Capital Markets

SWITZERLAND: UBS

TAIWAN: Chinatrust Commercial Bank

THAILAND: Bangkok Bank

TURKEY: Akbank

UAE: National Bank of Dubai

UKRAINE: Privatbank

UNITED KINGDOM: Barclays Capital

UNITED STATES: Citigroup (Honorable Mention: Bank of America and The Bank of New York)

URUGUAY: ABN AMRO

VENEZUELA: Banco Mercantil

BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESEARCH

The Bank of New York

BEST ONLINE FOREX TRADING SYSTEMS

Best Bank System: State Street's FX Connect

(Honorable Mention: UBS)

Best Independent: FXaIl

(Honorable Mention: Currenex)

GLOBAL WINNER

DEUTSCHE BANK

Deutsche Bank has achieved a leading global market share in foreign exchange trading of approximately 20%. With 700 trading, sales and support staff, it operates 42 foreign exchange dealing rooms worldwide. The bank's foreign exchange team specializes in currency pairs of the 10 largest industrialized countries, as well as Central European currencies, the South African rand and all of the Asian currencies. With a range of theme-based foreign-exchange investment products, Deutsche Bank has been a leader in the promotion of foreign exchange as an asset class. The bank is adept at developing structured currency investment strategies. It maintains a team of "global risk structurers" in London, New York, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Singapore. Deutsche Bank has created a total of 38 foreign exchange indexes, with an aggregate trading volume of $26 billion. Some 65 hedge fund managers currently use the bank's FXSelect platform, which has more than $1 billion under management. The bank's new Harvest indexes provide one-stop access to a diversified carry strategy of borrowing in low interest-rate currencies and investing in higher-return currencies. In May 2006 Deutsche Bank introduced an online retail foreign exchange margin trading service to customers worldwide. The dbFX system includes streaming quotes on competitive spreads in 24 currency pairs. For its corporate clients, the bank offers hedging products that provide enhanced payoff opportunities without compromising hedge-accounting compliance. Deutsche Bank also has currency-risk products for cross-border mergers and acquisitions that mirror the market and event risks of its customers.

REGIONAL WINNERS

NORTH AMERICA

CITIGROUP

Citigroup is a repeat winner as the Best Foreign Exchange Bank in North America. The bank has gained market share worldwide in the past two years and is the industry leader in the corporate sector. Citigroup has made big strides in the bank and hedge fund segments of the foreign exchange business, as well, and is strengthening its prime brokerage product. It has made key hires to build up its structured trading team. Its value-added services and products (VASP) group, comprises analytical, risk advisory, flow advisory, structuring and technical specialists. The group has created proprietary tools, which are available online. The corporate risk advisory group, or CRAG, helps multinational corporations with acquisitions, investment strategies and risk management. CRAG has created an emerging markets early-warning detector to help corporations make hedging decisions. The investor risk advisory group develops systematic trading strategies and identifies quantifiable drivers of the foreign exchange market. The CitiFX Flow Advisory examines the effects of client capital and trade flows on the market.

LATIN AMERICA

CITIGROUP

Citigroup has a presence in 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region where it has operated for more than a century. It is a major participant in most local foreign exchange markets. Its large sales and trading team serves thousands of clients in the region, and it offers currency risk management and advice, as well as spot and derivatives trading and structured transactions. Operations in each country are run on an independent basis, drawing on Citigroup's global foreign exchange capabilities. The bank offers 24-hour access to more than 130 currencies through its offshore trading facilities run from hubs in New York, London and Singapore. Its online currency platform enables clients to quote, close and confirm foreign exchange transactions.

WESTERN EUROPE

DEUTSCHE BANK

Deutsche Bank has been a top-three foreign exchange bank for the past six years. It is an active market maker in spot currency markets across Europe and offers a wide range of structured currency-related products. Its complex risk group trades and manages hybrids, including currency and index products, exotic currencies and currency fund derivatives. The groups innovative derivatives products allow customers to maximize returns from foreign exchange as an asset class and to efficiently manage currency risk.

WESTERN EUROPE/ HONORABLE MENTION

BARCLAYS CAPITAL

Barclays Capital is a major participant in the global foreign exchange markets, with teams in London, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Mumbai. The bank is active in emerging markets, with insightful research and competitive pricing. Bar clays Capital manages a global options book and provides currency option structures to meet customer needs. It is the leading foreign exchange bank in the UK market and serves a wide range of customers, including corporations, fund managers, private clients, central banks and other financial institutions.

WESTERN EUROPE/ HONORABLE MENTION

UBS

UBS has focused on customer service and continuous improvement to become a leading foreign exchange bank in Western Europe. Its FX Trader online system offers streaming click-and-deal prices in express mode and is extremely fast. FX Trader Orderbook allows users to leave limit orders on the system and to monitor their proximity to market prices. UBS combines technological capabilities with deep liquidity.

CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE

UNICREDIT GROUP

UniCredit Group has the biggest banking network in Central & Eastern Europe, with approximately 3,000 branches in 17 CEE countries. The bank has begun to integrate the HVB Group, including Bank Austria Creditanstalt and its subsidiaries, into its pan-European network under the UniCredit Bank name. UniCredit is one of the leading banks in Europe, with 35 million customers and 7,000 branches. Within the group, UniCredit (BA-CA) is responsible for banking activities in the CEE region. The bank's trading floor in Vienna is the hub for currency trading throughout the region.

SCANDINAVIA

HANDELSBANKEN CAPITAL MARKETS

Handelsbanken Capital Markets, the investment banking division of Handelsbanken, is the leading foreign exchange bank in Scandinavia. Based in Sweden, it is one of the largest participants in the foreign exchange and derivatives markets throughout the Nordic region. Traders in Stockholm, New York and Singapore provide 24-hour information and prices. The bank helps corporations reduce financing costs using currency swaps. It is a leader in Nordic currency forwards.

MIDDLE EAST

AHLI UNITED BANK

Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank is developing a broad network of banks and financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa, including Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman and Yemen. In November 2006 the International Finance Corporation, the private-sector arm of the World Bank, granted AUB a $200 million subordinated term loan that is eligible as Tier II capital. The IFC also acquired a 10% equity stake for $40 million in Delta International Bank in Egypt. In August 2006 AUB led a consortium of institutional investors that acquired an 89.3% stake in DIB. AUB plans to continue acquiring and restructuring financial institutions in the region. Its network will provide a channel for private-sector investment from resource-rich countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council to lower-income countries to support trade, financial flows, remittances and tourism. AUB provides wealth management, retail, corporate, treasury, offshore and private banking services.

AFRICA

STANDARD BANK

Standard Bank handles more than $3 billion of foreign exchange transactions daily. The Johannesburg-based bank facilitates cross-border transactions and settlements, advises on exchange controls and cross-border risk, and structures and executes foreign exchange hedging strategies. Standard Bank has offices in 38 countries, including 17 in Africa. It offers 24-hour trading in major currencies through offices in London, New York and Hong Kong. The bank trades in the emerging market currencies of Africa, South America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

ASIA-PACIFIC

HSBC

UK-based HSBC has its roots, and 20 foreign exchange trading desks, in Asia. It is particularly strong in Hong Kong and China. The bank has more than 700 offices throughout the region, where it offers competitive rates and fast execution in a wide range of currencies. The HSBCnet platform offers a flow-analysis tool based on spot and forward transaction data aggregated in Hong Kong. HSBC provides flexible risk management services through a range of currency option products.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

DBS

Singapore's largest bank, DBS operates in 15 Asian markets and is particularly strong in Southeast Asia, with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. In Singapore its 24-hour trading desk has 15 dealers quoting deliverable and non-deliverable currency pairs. In addition, DBS has 25 dealers in foreign exchange options and structured transactions, as well as 100 sales staff. The bank is an active market maker in non-deliverable forwards and a leader in the US dollar-Singapore dollar market.

COUNTRY WINNERS

ARGENTINA

CITIGROUP

Citigroup has a leading market share in Argentina's spot foreign exchange market, where it offers aggressive pricing and efficient service. The bank primarily serves large corporations and institutional investors, offers currency forwards, swaps and options, and has a significant volume of trade-related business.

ARMENIA

CONVERSE BANK

Converse Bank offers currency spot, swap and forward transactions. The bank specializes in trading the Armenian dram against the dollar and the Russian ruble and also participates in the Ukrainian grivna market.

AUSTRALIA

WESTPAC BANKING

Westpac has the largest market share for foreign exchange trading in Australia. It is a leading institution in the Asia-Pacific region, with more than 1,000 offices and efficient online services and is the leading banker to Australia's largest companies.

AUSTRIA

UNICREDIT GROUP

UniCredit Group (BA-CA) offers currency-related products, including swaps, hedges and spot transactions. The bank's Vienna trading floor is the hub of foreign exchange activity in Central & Eastern Europe.

BAHRAIN

AHLI UNITED BANK

Ahli United Bank is developing a large client base in the Gulf Cooperation Council nations through a strategy of structured organic growth and acquisitions. The bank has deep local knowledge of all of the countries in which it operates.

BELARUS

PRIORBANK

Priorbank is a member of RZB Group of Austria and a subsidiary of Raiffeisen International Bank. It has approximately a 37% market share in the Belarus foreign exchange market and maintains correspondent banking relations with 115 banks.

BELGIUM

FORTIS BANK

Fords Bank's merchant banking unit helps its clients manage foreign exchange exposures and take positions in a range of currencies. It is active in Scandinavian, East European, Asian and exotic currencies. The bank offers a range of currency options and derivatives. Its online system offers access to the bank's research facility.

BRAZIL

BANCO DO BRASIL

Banco do Brasil is the largest financial institution in Latin America and the main bank supporting Brazil's exports. The bank is Brazil's leading foreign exchange bank and offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services. It operates in 20 countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa.

CANADA

SCOTIA CAPITAL

Scotia Capital is the corporate and investment banking arm of Scotiabank, which has operations in 50 countries. It trades in 62 currencies and is one of the world's largest dealers of Canadian-dollar products. The bank's main trading operations are in Toronto, and it also has trading desks in Hong Kong, London and Mexico.

CHILE

BANCO DE CHILE

Banco de Chile offers a wide range of treasury and risk-management products and is a leader in foreign exchange and trade finance, which are active and competitive markets in Chile. It has branches in New York and Miami, and its shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

CHINA

BANK OF CHINA

Bank of China is the country's leading foreign exchange bank, with an annual volume of approximately $730 billion-more than half of China's total currency trading. With more than 500 overseas branches, the bank offers 24-hour global trading to clients in more than 20 countries. It is the largest market maker in the dollar-yuan onshore market and has traders in Beijing, Hong Kong and other major Chinese cities, and in New York, London and Singapore.

COLOMBIA

BANCOLOMBIA

Bancolombia, Colombia's largest bank, offers extensive foreign exchange and trade finance services. It has more than 350 branches in Colombia, as well as subsidiaries in Panama and the Cayman Islands and a Miami agency. The bank is building a new headquarters in Medellin.

COSTA RICA

SCOTIA CAPITAL

Toronto-based Scotiabank has become a leading bank in Latin America, both through internal growth and acquisitions. In June 2006 it purchased Corporacion Interim, the parent of Banco Interfin, Costa Rica's largest private-sector bank. Scotia Capital has merged its own foreign exchange operations in Costa Rica with those of Banco Interfin, last year's winner of Global Finances Best FX Bank award for the Central American country.

CZECH REPUBLIC

CESKOSLOVENSKA OBCHODNI BANKA (CSOB)

Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka is the leading foreign exchange bank in the Czech Republic. It does a significant amount of business with local corporations as well as with international banks. The number of the bank's clients involved with foreign exchange is growing, as is the volume of transactions. CSOB has an experienced derivatives desk, which trades in the name of KBC Brussels, the parent company.

DENMARK

DANSKE BANK

Danske Bank, Denmark's largest bank, agreed in November 2006 to buy Sampo Bank, based in Finland, for $5.2 billion in cash. Danske Bank has a 33% market share in Denmark and is seeking to expand in the faster-growing Nordic region. It has retail bank subsidiaries in Sweden and Norway and trades in all Scandinavian currencies. Danske Markets, the trading entity of the bank, has a staff of 350 in Scandinavia, London and New York.

ECUADOR

CITIGROUP

Citigroup Ecuador is the leading foreign exchange bank in the country, offering multi-currency transactions supported by its global online system. Ecuador has a dollar-based economy. Citigroup focuses on matching customer transactions and does not take currency positions on its books in Ecuador. It is able to offer customers immediate quotes and to handle large-scale transactions.

EGYPT

COMMERCIAL INTERNATIONAL BANK

Commercial International Bank, Egypt's largest privately owned bank, has a leading market share of about 10% of the country's foreign exchange market. It offers a wide range of products, including swaps, options and structured products, as well as risk-management and investment advice. It offers competitive prices and reliable service.

EL SALVADOR

CITIGROUP

El Salvador abolished its national currency, the colon, and adopted the US dollar in 2001. The local foreign exchange business is limited to trading the dollar against other currencies. Citigroup El Salvador offers online currency trading to corporate clients. In January 2006 it introduced forward hedging via currency options.

ESTONIA

HANSABANK

Hansabank, a subsidiary of Swedbank Group, is the leading bank in the Baltic countries. It has 300 branches and nearly 3 million customers. It has operated a regional corporate bank in Russia since 2002. Hansabank is a universal bank and has a banking market share of about 33% in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

FRANCE

BNP PARIBAS

With a presence in 85 countries, BNP Paribas has a global reach. It opened offices recently in Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Russia and Ukraine. The leading French bank specializes in foreign exchange derivatives denominated in euros, dollars and yen. FX Dealer, its online trading platform for spot currencies, forwards and swaps, operates 24 hours a day.

GAMBIA

STANDARD CHARTERED BANK (GAMBIA)

Standard Chartered Bank (Gambia) is the biggest participant in the local foreign exchange market, with a market share of approximately 35%. It is the market maker in the Gambian dalasi, which is freely convertible but not widely available outside of the country. The bank trades all of the major currencies, with the support of Standard Chartered s global network.

GEORGIA

BANK OF GEORGIA

Bank of Georgia, the country's largest bank in terms of equity, has the largest market share on the Tbilisi Interbank Currency Exchange. It also showed the biggest volume gain among Georgian commercial banks in the first half of 2006. Bank of Georgia trades 16 foreign currencies and also offers derivatives transactions.

GERMANY

DEUTSCHE BANK

Deutsche Bank, Germany's leading foreign exchange bank, is constantly creating new products and services and upgrading its technology. In 2006 it updated its autobahnFX online trading platform, adding currency pairs for options trading and 24-hour live streaming prices for new products, including currency indexes and baskets of major currencies and precious metals, as well as interest-rate swaps in a variety of currencies. Its leading foreign exchange prime brokerage business enables clients to benefit from the efficient use of capital and reduced operating risks.

GREECE

NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE

National Bank of Greece, the country's largest bank, agreed in October 2006 to acquire P&K Investment Services as part of its strategy to become the largest provider of integrated investment services in southeastern Europe. In September 2006 it acquired Vojvodjanska, the sixth-largest bank in Serbia. NBG recently introduced a special time deposit providing a full guarantee of initial capital at maturity with the possibility of higher returns linked to the performance of the euro against the dollar.

GUATEMALA

BANCO INDUSTRIAL

Banco Industrial, the largest bank in Guatemala, has a leading market share in the local foreign exchange market of approximately 20%. The bank focuses on corporate clients and has 285 branches. It is the leading bank for processing overseas remittances.

HONG KONG

HSBC

HSBC is Hong Kong's largest bank, and it dominates the Hong Kong-dollar market. In China, it trades the yuan in 25 licensed cities and provinces surrounding Shanghai and Shenzhen and provides currency forwards to all eligible customers. It also offers non-deliverable forwards in its major treasury centers outside of China.

HUNGARY

OTP BANK

OTP Bank, Hungary's leading commercial bank, with some 440 branches, has been on an acquisition spree. In July 2006 it purchased 96.4% of the shares in Investsberbank in Russia for $478 million, followed a few days later by the purchase of 67% of the shares in Kulska banka in Serbia. Last August it bought CKB in Montenegro and submitted a binding bid for 69.9% of CEC in Romania. In October it settled the purchase of Zepter banka in Serbia.

INDIA

ICICI BANK

ICICI Bank, India's largest bank by market value, offers a full range of foreign exchange services. It is the biggest market maker in rupee options. The bank also has a significant presence in the swap market for hard currencies in India. ICICI Bank's global foreign exchange desk has more than 35 people. More than 60% of its currency transactions are executed online. ICICI announced in November 2006 that it was borrowing $1 billion in yen to take advantage of Japans low interest rates.

ISRAEL

BANK HAPOALIM

Bank Hapoalim, Israels biggest bank, has purchased a 58% stake in Turkey's BankPozitif and is shopping for a

bank in Russia. Bank Hapoalim already serves the majority of Israel's largest companies and is looking to spend 20% of its market capitalization on future acquisitions.

ITALY

UNICREDIT GROUP

UniCredit Markets &: Investment Banking, including UniCredit Banca Mobiliare, is one of the leading banks in Europe, with 35 million customers. The bank is making good progress in integrating the activities of HVB Group, including Bank Austria Creditanstalt, and its subsidiaries, which have greatly strengthened its presence in Central & Eastern Europe.

JAMAICA

NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK

National Commercial Bank, Jamaica's largest bank, is the market leader in foreign exchange trading. NCB has 50 branches or agencies on the island, as well as a representative office in London.

JAPAN

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group merged with troubled UFJ Holdings on January 1, 2006, to form the world's largest bank, Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, or MUFG. The bank is paying back its government loans and aims to be a growing force on the international banking scene.

JORDAN

ARAB BANK

Jordan-based Arab Bank, the country's largest bank, has more than 350 branches in 35 countries. In May 2006 the UK Financial Services Authority authorized the bank to set up the Europe Arab Bank, which will be able to branch out in all EU countries. In addition to London, the Europe Arab Bank will have offices in Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Vienna. The new bank will focus on trade-related business between Europe and the Middle East and North Africa.

KAZAKHSTAN

KAZKOMMERTSBANK

Kazkommertsbank, Kazakhstan's largest bank, is a leading participant in the country's securities and foreign exchange markets. The bank estimates that its share of the corporate lending market in Kazakhstan is approximately 24%. It accepts deposits and provides loans and credit facilities in tenge and foreign currencies.

KUWAIT

NATIONAL BANK OF KUWAIT

National Bank of Kuwait, the country's largest bank, is the highest-rated bank in the region. NBK has the biggest domestic network in Kuwait, with 55 branches, and also has one of the largest international networks among Arab banks. It is the market maker in Kuwaiti dinars for spot and forward trading.

LATVIA

PAREX BANKA

Parex banka, the leading bank in Latvia, has the largest market share in foreign exchange in the country. Its customers have 24-hour access to global derivatives markets. Parex banka is the only bank in Latvia to participate in the Electronic Brokerage System. Its main foreign exchange counterparties are local Baltic banks, large European banks and London-based brokers, as well as Russian, Kazakh and Ukrainian banks.

LEBANON

BLOM BANK

BLOM Bank is a leading foreign exchange bank in Lebanon, with an estimated market share of 25% to 30%. BLOM Bank has an extensive branch network, including offices in Europe and the Middle East. It is a prime market maker in the Lebanese pound. Besides the major currencies, it trades the Nordic and Gulf currencies and several others. BLOM offers competitive prices and market analysis.

LITHUANIA

SEB VILNIAUS BANKAS

SEB Vilniaus Bankas, the leading commercial bank in Lithuania, has a 44% market share of the corporate foreign exchange market. It trades Central European and Scandinavian currencies, as well as the major currencies. The bank's clients use its online trading system, Trading Station, for 70% of their foreign exchange business. SEB Vilniaus Bankas also offers currency riskmanagement and advisory services.

MALAYSIA

HSBC MALAYSIA BERHAD

HSBC was the first foreign bank to incorporate in Malaysia, where it has deep roots. Through HSBC Amanah Finance, it offers a range of Islamic banking and finance products. The bank's foreign exchange trading profits increased in the first nine months of 2006 due to increased hedging activities by corporations, along with greater foreign exchange rate volatility, which created increased trading opportunities.

MEXICO

BANAMEX

Banamex is the leading foreign exchange bank in Mexico, with a 27% market share. Its treasury department has a staff of 46 people focused on foreign exchange customer business. The bank has been successful in reducing its spreads in the past year, maintaining its leading market position. As a part of Citigroup, it has access to global currency markets.

MOLDOVA

VICTORIABANK

Founded in 1989,Victoriabank was the first commercial bank to be established in Moldova. It has branches in all the major business centers of the country. In 2006 it began offering money transfer services for customers without an account at the bank.

NETHERLANDS

ABN AMRO

ABN AMRO is a major foreign exchange bank, with operations in more than 45 countries. It offers currency risk-management, prime brokerage and foreign exchange research and strategy services. ABN AMRO supplies numerous connection choices for online trading and began offering retail foreign exchange trading in 2006. Its proprietary Internet-based system, DealStation, has a swap matrix for all standard periods up to one year and allows users to view executed deals as they take place.

NEW ZEALAND

ANZ

ANZ is New Zealand's leading foreign exchange bank, with nearly half of the market. The bank offers currency forwards and options and is also very active in the Australian foreign exchange market. It has offered online foreign exchange trading since 1998.

NIGERIA

FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA

First Bank of Nigeria serves its clients' foreign exchange needs with up-to-date technology, excellent customer service and connections to a reputable international correspondent network. Nigeria's largest bank also operates a London subsidiary and a South African representative office. Late last year it won a trio of awards from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

NORWAY

DNB NOR

DnB NOR is the largest bank in Norway, with a market share of about 40%. Its investment bank, DnB NOR Markets, is Norway's leading foreign exchange bank. DNB NOR owns 51% of a joint venture with German bank NORD/LB in the Baltic region. In Denmark and Finland the joint venture is increasing its share of the corporate market.

OMAN

BANKMUSCAT

BankMuscat has a leading market share of nearly 70% in Oman's foreign exchange market. The bank's treasury and capital markets division does business at pre-agreed spreads with major corporations and institutional customers. BankMuscat offers interest rate swaps, options, forwards, swaps and futures. It structures complex derivative transactions to meet the needs of its customers.

PAKISTAN

NATjONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN

National Bank of Pakistan, the country's largest bank, has a nationwide network of foreign exchange offices. The bank offers efficient remittance services to nonresident Pakistanis at 15 overseas branches, as well as through Pakistan International Bank (UK) and Bank Al-Jazira in Saudi Arabia.

PERU

CITIGROUP

Citigroup has a leading market share in foreign exchange trading in Peru, where it focuses on serving large corporations, including telecorn and mining companies, and institutional investors. It has been instrumental in developing the local nuevo sol/US dollar swap market.

POLAND

BANK BPH

Following the merger of UniCredit Group with Germany-based HVB, a new banking leader is being created in Poland with the integration of Bank Pekao and Bank BPH. The banks are part of UniCredit and will be merged in 2007.

PORTUGAL

MILLENNIUM BCP

Millennium bcp, Portugal's largest private-sector bank, has a nearly 60% market share in foreign exchange. The bank offers aggressive pricing and is active in a wide range of currencies and derivatives. It operates in the US and Europe, as well as in Angola and Mozambique.

QATAR

QATAR NATIONAL BANK

Qatar National Bank, the country's largest bank, has 30 domestic branches and controls about half of the assets of the banking system. It also has branches in London and Paris and is active in the foreign exchange market. QNB reported a 47.5% growth in assets in the third quarter of 2006 from the same period a year earlier.

RUSSIA

MDM BANK

MDM Bank, one of the leading independent banks in Russia, has a 40% share of spot turnover in the country's foreign exchange market for major currencies. More than half of its turnover is accounted for by trading of the euro against the dollar. MDM offers 24-hour margin trading services. Trading in derivatives is limited, as Russian law has yet to clearly define these products. MDM offers currency forwards and futures.

SAUDI ARABIA

SAMBA

Samba is one of the leading banks in Saudi Arabia, where it is active in the inter-bank foreign exchange market and provides a wide range of treasury products, including complex currency derivatives as well as structured investments linked to foreign exchange. It offers advice and risk-management solutions but always leaves the final decision to the customer. Samba is the leading market maker in the Saudi riyal, with a market share of more than 70%.

SINGAPORE

DBS

DBS, the largest bank in Singapore and fifth-largest in Hong Kong, operates in 15 Asian markets. The bank is an active market maker in non-deliverable forwards and is a

major participant in the Singapore dollar market. With trading floors in Singapore and Hong Kong, it is expanding derivatives sales in Taiwan, South Korea, China, India and Indonesia. DBS installed a new online trading system in-house in 2006 and will be extending it to corporate and institutional clients in 2007.

SLOVAKIA

TATRA BANKA

Tatra Banka is the third-largest bank in Slovakia and is its largest corporate lender. A part of Austria-based RZB Group, it offers trade-related and foreign exchange products.

SLOVENIA

NOVA LJUBLJANSKA BANKA

Nova Ljubljanska Banka, the largest bank in Slovenia, is active in the foreign exchange market. NLB is 34%-owned by KBC Bank of Belgium, which decided in June 2006 to sell its stake after the government declined to allow it to boost its holding to 49%. NLB maintains correspondent banking relationships with banks from 134 countries

SOUTH AFRICA

STANDARD BANK

Standard Bank, South Africa's largest bank, has a foreign exchange market share of 30% to 35%, with an annual volume of more than $900 billion. A dedicated emerging markets desk serves Africa and Indian Ocean islands. Standard Bank is the biggest rand trader in the country and maintains a liquid forward rand market for maturities up to one year. The bank has more than 140 foreign exchange traders and sales staff in South Africa.

SOUTH KOREA

KOREA EXCHANGE BANK

Korea Exchange Bank is the country's leading foreign exchange bank. Lone Star Funds, the private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas, canceled an agreement in November 2006 to sell its controlling stake in KEB to Kookmin Bank, South Korea's biggest lender.

SPAIN

GRUPO SANTANDER

Grupo Santander, the largest bank in Spain, has significant operations in Latin America. In October 2006 it took over management of $3.5 billion of assets and deposits from Latin American high-net-worth clients of Bank of America. Grupo Santander is one of the largest banks in the euro area by market value.

SWEDEN

HANDELSBANKEN CAPITAL MARKETS

Handelsbanken Capital Markets, the investment banking division of Handelsbanken, is one of the largest banks in the Nordic region. Based in Sweden, it has 35 offices in Denmark, 36 in Finland, 36 in Norway and 18 in the UK. It also has a presence in 13 other countries and trades all major and Nordic currencies.

SWITZERLAND

UBS

UBS is Switzerland's leading foreign exchange bank. It tailors its currency products to meet the specific needs of asset managers, hedge funds, corporations, private clients and banks. By focusing on customer needs, constant improvement and innovation, the bank has developed many market-leading foreign exchange products and services.

TAIWAN

CHINATRUST COMMERCIAL BANK

Chinatrust Commercial Bank, the largest privately owned commercial bank in Taiwan, leads in foreign exchange and currency derivatives as well. The bank monitors multiple sources of prices and provides tight spreads to its foreign exchange customers. Chinatrust has integrated all of its treasury products on a single platform.

THAILAND

BANGKOK BANK

Bangkok Bank, Thailand's largest bank, is also its leading foreign exchange bank, with an annual volume in the spot and forward markets of approximately $100 billion. Bangkok Bank has the largest international network of any Thai bank. It is a market maker in dollar-baht and quotes prices regardless of market conditions.

TURKEY

AKBANK

Akbank, the largest privately owned bank in Turkey, has a leading foreign exchange market share of about 18%. Its strategy is to offer the most competitive prices that will also be profitable to the bank. Citigroup agreed in October 2006 to buy a 20% equity position in Akbank for approximately $3.1 billion.

UAE

NATIONAL BANK OF DUBAI

National Bank of Oubai offers spot and forward currency contracts, as well as currency swaps and options. Early in 2006 the bank's treasury department introduced an online technical analysis service with charting tools for major currencies, crude oil and gold.

UKRAINE

PRIVATBANK

Privatbank is the leading bank in Ukraine by assets and has more than 10 million accounts. Based in Dnepropetrovsk in southeast Ukraine, the bank is active in trade finance and foreign exchange.

UNITED KINGDOM

BARCLAYS CAPITAL

Barclays offers a wide range of currency-related products to a diverse group of customers. It is a committed market maker in major currencies and is also strong in emerging markets of Africa, Asia, India and Latin America. The bank has a specialized risk-advisory unit that can advise on multi-product structured deals.

UNITED STATES

CITIGROUP

Citigroup continues to gain market share in foreign exchange and is the leader in the corporate sector. It has focused recently on building up its bank and hedge fund segments and is developing what promises to be a comprehensive prime-brokerage product. Citigroup offers liquidity in every currency pair and can offer tighter spreads than its competitors, due to the breadth and depth of its client base.

UNITED STATES/ HONORABLE MENTION

BANK OF AMERICA

Bank ot America is a rising star in the foreign exchange business. Its online currency trading volume doubled in the first three quarters of 2006, and the bank shows particular strength in Latin American and Asian emerging market currencies.

UNITED STATES/ HONORABLE MENTION

THE BANK OF NEW YORK

The Bank of New York supports all dealing styles, from direct trading with traders on its seven foreign exchange desks around the world, to standing-instruction execution related to securities settlement, to electronic trading through its iFX Manager proprietary platform, or through multi-bank portals.

URUGUAY

ABN AMRO

ABN AMRO has a leading foreign exchange market share in Uruguay. The largest privately owned bank in the country, it offers a wide range of foreign exchange products, including swaps of dollar notes against electronic deposits in the United States.

VENEZUELA

BANCO MERCANTIL

Banco Mercantil, Venezuela's leading bank, has prospered in line with improvements in the country's oil-based economy. It operates in 10 countries in the Americas and Europe. The bank helps its customers to comply with Venezuela's tightly regulated currency regime.

BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESEARCH

THE BANK OF NEW YORK

With $3.7 trillion of global custody business and $13 trillion of assets under administration, The Bank of New York has a proprietary view of cross-border capital flows. In September 2006 the bank launched the second generation of its Interactive Portfolio Flow Monitor, or iPFM, a Web-based system that provides charts of non-domestic investment flows into and out of 38 major asset markets. It can be used to analyze bilateral flows on a daily basis over the past five years. The charts can be overlaid with graphs of a wide range of currencies or equity or fixed-income indexes. A flow matrix provides an overview of cross-border flows across all markets covered.

The bank is a major participant in the global foreign exchange markets and has trading desks in New York, London, Tokyo, Brussels, Hong Kong, Taipei and Seoul. Its online iConfirm service enables clients to manage the post-trade process for foreign exchange transactions with the bank. Clients can view mark-to-market reports on outstanding foreign exchange trades on demand.

The bank's Standing Instruction product automates the capture of all types of custody-related foreign exchange. The bank's global markets division has launched a new website, with research and commentary, daily podcasts, RSS feeds and upgrades to the iPFM.

BEST ONLINE FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRADING SYSTEMS

BEST BANK SYSTEM

STATE STREET'S FX CONNECT

FX Connect, State Street's foreign exchange trading platform, has 55 bank participants across 165 geographic locations. FX Connect is a module of Boston-based State Street's Global Link unit, which is used by companies that manage 75% of the world's professionally managed assets. FX Connect supports an unlimited number of currency pairs. Spot, forward, swap and non-deliverable forward transactions can be executed. Buy-side participants are charged no fees. The system is able to execute trades across an unlimited number of accounts and through multiple counterparties. A summary screen enables firms to benefit from cross-currency netting to reduce trading costs.

BEST BANK SYSTEM/ HONORABLE MENTION

UBS

FX Trader, UBS's cash dealing platform, has streaming prices for spot, forward and swap transactions. The rate engine responds in 250 milliseconds and prices more than 15 deals a second in peak market conditions. Larger trades get quoted just as quickly as small requests. The system accepts limit orders, which are color coded for easy tracking. The bank's FX Option Trader has been continuously enhanced since it was introduced more than five years ago.

BEST INDEPENDENT

FX ALL

FXall, the leading portal for online currency trading, has average daily volume of $42 billion and has handled more than $64 billion in a single day. It accounts for more than one-third of the multi-bank dealer-to-client market. FXall is a global company with a diverse client base. Just over half of its trading comes from Europe, and about one-third from the Americas, with the remainder from the Asia-Pacific region. FXall is integrated with companies' treasury management systems, improving workflow and reducing errors. Its customers include more than half of the 100 largest companies worldwide, as well as more than 40% of the top asset managers. The system generates a full audit trail for every trade. More than 300 currency pairs are traded over the platform in a typical month. Pricing is determined by the rates streamed by its more than 65 liquidity providers. FXall has introduced a service for non-deliverable forward trading and confirmations across a wide range of emerging market currencies.

BEST INDEPENDENT/ HONORABLE MENTION

CURRENEX

Currenex connects more than 60 banks to an electronic trading network. The company was the first to introduce click-and-trade streaming prices. In May 2006 it launched CX SmartOrder, a foreign exchange trading platform that allows traders to leverage algorithmic trading models that execute orders based on market dynamics. The platform runs on a trader's own computer and aggregates liquidity from diverse sources. It gives traders the flexibility to revise strategies swiftly and implement new models. Currenex has a history of promoting open industry standards. In November 2006 it agreed to make OpenSTP/FX freely available under an open-source license to accelerate the industry-wide adoption of electronic trading.