Forex brokerage firms are staring into an abyss, fighting to survive

Today, the number of forex brokerage firms stand at about 15 - down from 40 five years ago and from 125 in 1998

It’s unlikely that you have heard of the Foreign Exchange Brokers’ Association (FEBA), a lobby group of old-world voice-brokers (close cousins of the outcry artistes on the bourses from a bygone era) who, on a good day, would put through a few billion dollars worth of deals between them in the foreign exchange (forex) mart. Yet today, they can’t meet even the piffling capital norm set by Mint Road — Rs 50 million for partnerships and Rs 100 million for public and private firms in this line of business. Many deadlines have passed, and a new date has been sought.