Traders at the BofE

[Block_king]

I have heard that the BofE employs execution traders, mainly for the forex markets.

Does anyone know what the traders do, what sorts of people they hire, what ages they are looking for and what the work involves?

Responses would be immensely appreciated

 

[Martinghoul]

It's not just FX... They also have a gilt/corp execution desk.

 

[Block_king]

It's not just FX... They also have a gilt/corp execution desk.

What sorts of people do they take on? Is it mainly graduates who have progressed for a few years through their scheme or experienced exec traders from big firms?

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions

 

[Martinghoul]

What sorts of people do they take on? Is it mainly graduates who have progressed for a few years through their scheme or experienced exec traders from big firms?

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions

First of all, one caveat for you to keep in mind is that my view is based on anecdotal evidence and hearsay.

Only one way to describe these people and that is that they're career civil servants, through and through.

 

[Block_king]

First of all, one caveat for you to keep in mind is that my view is based on anecdotal evidence and hearsay.

Only one way to describe these people and that is that they're career civil servants, through and through.

Do you mean the exec traders there or BofE people in general?

 

[Martinghoul]

Do you mean the exec traders there or BofE people in general?

BoE people, in general, including the traders...

 

[gooseman]

i've been in the markets for nigh on 10 years now an only met 1BOE bloke. and he is now ex-BOE. and i include that in my day to day work.

 

[Block_king]

i've been in the markets for nigh on 10 years now an only met 1BOE bloke. and he is now ex-BOE. and i include that in my day to day work.

Gooseman, why do you think that is? Is it because they tend to avoid traders/brokers/etc and hang out with other civil servant types or is it some sort of thing whereby they are discouraged from hanging out with traders as they may have knowledge of MPC figures before they are announced,etc?

 

[Block_king]

BoE people, in general, including the traders...

Thanks for clarifying. I'm guessing the kind of person that would trade exec there would be very different in personality profile to an exec trader at a hedge fund lol.

 

[gooseman]

i have no idea mate-i've always wondered how they work myself. and who they use ;-)

 

[GammaJammer]

I've worked places where we saw their flow. Nothing to write home about to be honest most of the time. As CBs go they're all very civilised and rather, erm, English in my limited experience. Certainly there are farr less friendly CBs out there, not scared of a drive-by or two when the mood takes them and the stops are within range...

 

[gooseman]

i'm guessing they use th ebanks to do their biz...

 

[Block_king]

I've worked places where we saw their flow. Nothing to write home about to be honest most of the time. As CBs go they're all very civilised and rather, erm, English in my limited experience. Certainly there are farr less friendly CBs out there, not scared of a drive-by or two when the mood takes them and the stops are within range...

Forgive my ignorance, what do you mean by 'drive by or two'? My only understanding of the term is probably not what you are referring to.

 

[gooseman]

walk in, plaster the market, walk out.

 

[Martinghoul]

walk in, plaster the market, walk out.

Jeeez, gooseman, this ain't exactly helpful, is it ? What with more lingo and everything...

B_K, "drive-by" is used to denote a particularly unpleasant style of trade execution. Normally, a "nice" trader would do his whole trade with a single cpty and then sit back, in order to allow the said counterparty to unwind the risk in the mkt. So, for instance, say you need to sell 2bn EURUSD. You do the whole clip with a single dealer and pay the bid/offer commensurate with the large size of the trade. Then you stay out of the mkt to allow the dealer to do their magic and sell the 2bn EURUSD that you just saddled them with. That's a nice gentlemanly way of doing things.

On the other hand, if you were not a nice guy, you could simultaneously hit 20 bids from different dealers in 100MM clips. You will be able to do what you're trying to do and will probably save yourself some bid/offer. However, the dealers will be very upset, since they would now have to go into the mkt simultaneously to try to sell their 100MM chunks. That's a "drive-by" and it's done either if a) you're mean; b) you're trying to make a point; or c) you're desperate.

 

[Block_king]

Jeeez, gooseman, this ain't exactly helpful, is it ? What with more lingo and everything...

B_K, "drive-by" is used to denote a particularly unpleasant style of trade execution. Normally, a "nice" trader would do his whole trade with a single cpty and then sit back, in order to allow the said counterparty to unwind the risk in the mkt. So, for instance, say you need to sell 2bn EURUSD. You do the whole clip with a single dealer and pay the bid/offer commensurate with the large size of the trade. Then you stay out of the mkt to allow the dealer to do their magic and sell the 2bn EURUSD that you just saddled them with. That's a nice gentlemanly way of doing things.

On the other hand, if you were not a nice guy, you could simultaneously hit 20 bids from different dealers in 100MM clips. You will be able to do what you're trying to do and will probably save yourself some bid/offer. However, the dealers will be very upset, since they would now have to go into the mkt simultaneously to try to sell their 100MM chunks. That's a "drive-by" and it's done either if a) you're mean; b) you're trying to make a point; or c) you're desperate.

Thanks very much for explaining the 'drive-by' thing. Why would the BofE want to do a 'drive-by'? I'm confused as to what their incentives would be as I don't think they're mean and I'm not sure what point they'd be trying to make.