Banks FICC Revenues Dip Amid Low Volatility & Regulation

It’s a difficult time to be a big bank commodity trader. Trading revenue in fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) is down significantly at the bank.  What, with regulatory agencies around the western world cutting down on documented market manipulation in Libor, currency and commodity markets, the old big bank prop desks could be facing a new market environment.  In fact, some traders at prop desks now might be forced to play by the same rules as their hedge fund brethren, is the talk. But one market environment that can be discussed publicly influencing bank trading revenues is volatility.

JPMorgan says FICC revenue drop due to lowered volatility

When considering...