New | FXCM sees record trading volume after near-fatal Swiss franc shock

FXCM, the currency brokerage that almost failed last week, is on pace to set a record for trading volume and plans to sell non-core assets to start paying back its US$300 million bailout from Leucadia National Corp.

The firm said its average retail trading volume this month was US$27 billion a day, on pace for the most ever. It said it planned to expand its core business while selling other units.

The company expected proceeds from the sales, together with earnings, "can meet both near and long-term obligations of our financing", chief executive Drew Niv said.

FXCM, the largest US retail foreign-exchange broker, lost more than US$200 million after the Swiss central bank's surprise decision to let the franc trade freely against the euro.

The bailout that saved the company also gave Leucadia, the owner of investment bank Jefferies Group, the right to force a sale and keep most of the proceeds.

Leucadia could charge as much as 20.5 per cent interest for its bailout loan, FXCM said in a regulatory filing, amending an earlier disclosure that said the rate would not exceed 17 per cent.