ACI FMA Releases Best Practices Support Handbook

ACI – The Financial Markets Association has reinforced one of the core values of the organisation, conduct, by releasing the ACI FMA Handbook – Best Practices and Further Guidance on its new MyACIFMA portal.

The handbook has been published to provide more depth and detail to best practices as part of an effort to support the FX Global Code, the Global Precious Metals Code, and the UK Money Markets Code, by reinforcing their best practice guidelines. It also seeks to reinforce the minimum standards of behaviour demanded by peers, managers, customers, counterparties, as well as local and global authorities.

ACI FMA says the handbook is also designed for global application across OTC wholesale markets, including FX, money markets, precious metals and related derivatives. It provides more detail around the specific principles in the three industry codes, with direct links to the individual principles, but it also sheds further light on some of the key conduct issues market participants may face, thus helping shape their response to everyday work challenges.

Currently, access to the ACI FMA Handbook is available exclusively for ACI FMA members as a free subscription, access can be obtained via members’ ACI National Associations. ACI says non-members will also be able to access the handbook at a future date, subject to a subscription fee.

“The launch of the ACI FMA Handbook is an important milestone for all our ACI members and for the wholesale financial markets industry,” says Kim Winding Larsen, president of ACI FMA. “This document has been developed by ACI FMA with the intention to offer further guidance and reinforce recognised Industry Codes, such as the FX Global Code, the Global Precious Metals Code, and the UK Money Markets Code, with all sections of the ACI FMA Handbook connecting directly with the relevant sections of those Industry Codes, allowing readers to understand how ethical conduct and guidelines of good market practices (one of ACI FMA’s core values) can be applied in practice across OTC wholesale markets.

“To further support this launch, the ACI FMA Handbook is also available on our ELAC Portal (together with three Industry Codes) as we believe continuous education (another core value of ACI FMA), through training and attestation, for individual market participants is essential to support the industry’s effort to maintain the integrity and the fairness of financial markets,” he adds.