Last Look Gets Thumbs Down in Updated Currency-Market Guidelines

Revision to Global FX Code comes after industry consultation
Voluntary standards aim to rebuild trust in currencies market

A sign advertising U.S. dollar, euro, pound sterling and swiss franc exchange rates stands outside a foreign currency exchange bureau in Budapest, Hungary, on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. Hungarian retail sales rose at the slowest pace since the start of the year in October, casting doubt on cabinet projections that a fourth-quarter upswing will lift economic growth to the government's target.Photographer: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg

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By Lananh Nguyen and Lucy Meakin

December 19, 2017 at 12:00 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Central bankers and industry participants made their strongest statement yet against the use of last look, the controversial practice in currency trading that allows dealers to back out of losing trades.

Government officials and traders who comprise the Global Foreign Exchange Committee changed the FX Global Code to indicate that no one should “undertake trading activity that utilizes information from the client’s trade request during the last-look window.” That strengthens guidelines issued in May, which didn’t settle the debate over the lightning-rod issue.