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Trading Hours 
CB’s trading desk is open 24 hours daily from 5:00pm GMT Sunday
through 5:00pm GMT Friday.
Currency Pairs
24-hour trading is available in 10 currency pairs: EUR/USD, USD/JPY,
GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, AUD/USD,AUD/JPY, EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, GBP/JPY.
Dealing Spread
At CB, you can trade on dealing spreads as low as 3-8 pips on the
most widely traded currency pairs. And with our fractional pip pricing,
you gain an extra digit of precision so that you can take advantage
of smaller price movements.
For clients who trade news events, we also offer fixed spread pricing.
With this option, bid/offer spreads remain fixed 100% of the time
under all market conditions - which includes times of high market
volatility, before and after major economic releases, and following
other important news and events.
Trading Minimums
Standard Accounts:
Minimum transaction size for standard accounts is 1 lot, or 100,000
of the base currency, with a minimum margin deposit of 0.5% (200:1
leverage). For example, a US$100,000 position would require an initial
margin deposit of US$500.
Fees
CB charges no trading commissions or transaction fees. CB is compensated
for its services through the bid/ask spread.
Price Quotes
CB’s clients have
the ability to execute trades directly from real time streaming
bid/ask quotes. Live prices are continuously published to clients
via CB’s trading platform, and traders can at any time click on
the current bid or offer and instantaneously execute a trade. Prices
are updated automatically as market conditions dictate. On average,
CB traders make 100,000 prices per day. More importantly, CB publishes
the same dealing price to the entire client base and allows any
client to deal on the available price.
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Trading over the Internet
Executing a deal with CB via the Internet is a simple two-step process.
Simply enter the number of lots and then click on the bid (buy)
or offer (sell) for the currency pair you wish to trade - your deal
is automatically executed. The dealing software automatically calculates
the initial margin requirement based upon the notional amount of
the deal, and if sufficient funds are available in your account,
will accept the transaction. Deals are confirmed online, normally
within one second, and the system instantaneously updates both your
open position and calculates your current P&L.
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Phone Trading
Live clients may trade over the telephone 24 hours a day, from Monday
at 1:00am GMT through Friday at 9:00pm GMT. When trading via phone,
our dealers will quote the same tight spreads available via the
dealing platform. All trades executed via the phone are subject
to a pre-deal margin availability check and will be manually entered
into the customer's account for integrated P&L analysis and
reporting. All telephone calls are recorded for the safety of both
parties.
Phone Dealing Procedure
1. Immediately state your ID and Password.
2. State your interest. Always be sure to include the number of
lots and the currency pair you are interested in.
Example: "I would like a price on 5 lots of Euro/Dollar."
3. The Dealer will then provide a 2-way price quote.
Example: "Euro/Dollar is 1.2855/58" (the first number
being the bid, the second the offer)
4. State your trade.
Example: "At 1.2855, I sell 5 lots of Euro/Dollar" or
"At 1.2858, I buy 5 lots of Euro/Dollar"
5. If you do not wish to deal at the quoted levels, simply say "Nothing
Done", hang up and call again later. Or, place a limit or stop
order at your desired level.
6. Remember: A price given is the dealing price at that time; haggling
is not allowed nor are Traders allowed to remain on the phone until
the price changes.
7. It is important to remember that Dealing Desk phone lines are
reserved for dealing/order purposes only, and that proper Phone
Dealing Procedures be observed at all times. All other inquiries,
such as account issues or general information, can be addressed
through +44(0)870-486-7384.
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Order Types*
CB's dealing platform provides sophisticated order entry and tracking.
Orders may be entered at any rate - inside or outside the existing
spread - using the following order types:
Limit orders
An order with restrictions on the maximum price to be paid or the
minimum price to be received.
If a trader is long USD/CHF at 1.4627, a limit order would be entered
to sell dollars above that price, for example, at 1.4800.
Stop Loss orders
Order type whereby an open position is automatically liquidated
at a specific price. Often used to minimize exposure to losses if
the market moves against an investor's position.
If the trader above is long USD at 1.4627, a stop loss order could
be left at 1.4549, in case the dollar depreciates below 1.4549.
As a rule, sell stops are filled on our bid, and buy stops are
filled on our offer. This allows CB to fill client stop orders at
the rate they requested in almost every case. In the rare instance
that the market gaps over a requested rate, the stop is filled at
the best available price. This is an important point for traders
who are accustomed to being filled on sell stops when the offer
reaches the requested order rate. For example, if a stop order is
placed to sell USD/CHF at 1.4549, the trader will be filled when
the bid reaches 1.4549 (i.e. the bid/offer is 1.4549/54).
One Cancels Other orders (OCO's)
A contingent order providing that one part of the order is cancelled
if the other part is executed. This is a particularly useful order
type in that it allows traders to execute specific trading strategies
based on technical analysis - without having to watch the market
tick by tick.
As above, with the trader long USD/CHF at 1.4627, a typical OCO
order would be a stop loss at 1.4562 and a limit (take profit) at
1.4700. If one part of the order is filled, the other is automatically
cancelled.
If / Then Single
A conditional order providing that if the first order ("If"
order) is executed, the second order ("Then" order) is
activated as a live, single order.
In cases where the If order does not execute, the Then single order
will remain dormant. When either part of an If / Then order is cancelled,
all parts of the order are cancelled as well.
An example of an If / Then single order would be to first place
an 'If' limit order to buy EUR/USD at 1.0690, fifty points elow
the current market rate of 1.0740. The 'Then' part of the order
would be a limit sell order to take profit at 1.0770 (eighty pips
above the 'If' order execution rate of 1.0690). If the market dips
to 1.0690 the 'If' order will execute and the 'Then' leg of the
order will become active. Note: the 'Then' order could also have
been a stop loss order at 1.0650 (forty pips below the execution
rate of 1.0690).
If /Then OCO
A conditional order providing that if the first order ("If"
order) is executed, the second order ("Then" order) is
activated as a live, One Cancels Other (OCO) order. The execution
of either one of the two 'Then' orders automatically cancels the
other.
In cases where the 'If' single order does not execute, the 'Then'
OCO order will remain dormant. When any part of an If / Then OCO
order is cancelled, including either leg of the OCO order, all parts
of the order are cancelled as well. An example of an If / Then OCO
order would be to first place an 'If' limit order to buy USD/JPY
at 118.80, fifty points below the current market rate of 119.30.
The 'Then' part of the order would be an OCO order: one leg of the
OCO could be a limit sell order to take profit at 119.60, (eighty
pips above the execution rate of 118.80) the other leg a stop loss
order to sell at 118.50 (thirty points below the execution rate).
If the market reaches 118.80, the 'If' single order is executed,
and the 'Then' OCO order is activated. If activated, the execution
of either leg of the 'Then' OCO order automatically cancels the
other.
All of the above orders may be entered as Day Orders, entered today
and good until end of London business day (17:00 GMT). Or, clients
may choose to enter a Good 'til Cancelled Order (GTC), which is
valid until the order is executed or cancelled. Orders remain open
until they are triggered or cancelled. If you close out a position
manually, you must cancel any order(s) relating to that position.
* Placing contingent orders may not necessarily limit your losses.
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Order Execution
First In First
Out (FIFO)
Open positions are closed according to the FIFO accounting rule.
All positions opened within a particular currency pair are liquidated
in the order in which they were originally opened.
Stop Loss Orders
As a rule, sell stops are filled on our bid and buy stops are filled
on our offer. This is an important point for traders who are accustomed
to being filled on sell stops when the offer reaches the requested
order rate. For example, if a stop order is placed to sell USD/CHF
at 1.4549, the trader will be filled when the bid reaches 1.4549.
In the rare instance the market gaps over a requested rate, a stop
order is filled at the best available price.
Limit Orders
Sell limit orders are filled when the bid reaches the requested
rate; limit orders to buy are filled on the offer. For example,
a limit order to buy EUR/USD at 1.0456 will be filled when CB’s
offer hits 1.0456.
Good Til Cancelled (GTC) Orders
All GTC orders remain open until they are triggered or cancelled.
If you close out a position manually, you must cancel any order(s)
relating to that position.
Orders left over the weekend or holidays
Orders left pending at close of trading on Friday at 5:00pm GMT
or placed over the weekend are subject to a gap open on Sunday evening
when CB starts trading at 5:00pm GMT. For both stop loss and limit
orders - if your order is triggered due to news, events or other
fundamental factors, it will not be executed over the weekend. Your
order WILL be executed at the prevailing price when CB trading desk
opens Sunday. Because of the additional gap risk involved, you may
want to reconsider leaving open orders over the weekend or holidays.
* Placing contingent orders may not necessarily limit your losses.
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Margin
The maximum available margin is .5% (200x leverage) for mini accounts
and 1% (100x leverage) for standard accounts. Traders always have
the option of employing a lower degree of leverage.
The minimum margin requirement is approximately $50 per lot in a
mini account and approximately $1000 per lot in a standard account.
The requirements for leverage may vary with account size or market
conditions, and may be changed from time to time at the sole discretion
of CB.
If maximum leverage is employed, traders must maintain the minimum
margin requirement on their open positions at all times. It is the
customer's responsibility to monitor his/her margin account balance.
CB has the right to liquidate any or all open positions whenever
a trader's minimum margin requirement is not maintained. This is
an important risk management feature designed to strictly limit
trading losses in your account.
Margin Example
 USD Based Currency Pair
Margin = (Contract size / Leverage)
You have $500 in a mini account. To calculate the margin required
to execute 8 mini lots of USD/JPY (80,000 USD) at 200x leverage,
simply divide the deal size by the leverage amount e.g. (80,000
/ 200 = 400). You post $400 margin for this trade, leaving a $100
balance in your account.
Non-USD Based Currency Pair
Margin = [(Contract Size x Price) / Leverage]
In this example, you have $5,000 in a standard account. You want
to execute 3 lots of EUR/USD (300,000 Euros) at the current market
price of 1.2710 using 100x leverage. To calculate the required margin
for this position, multiply the deal size (300,000) by the price
(1.2710) and then divide by the leverage (100x), e.g. [(300,000*1.2710)/100]
= $3,813. After you executed this trade, you would have a $1,187
balance in your account.
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The trading platform automatically calculates margin requirements
and checks available funds before allowing you to successfully enter
a new position. If you do not have adequate funds available to enter
a new position, you will receive an "insufficient margin funds"
message when attempting to deal.
If the unrealized P&L of your net total open position falls
below your margin balance, your account is under margined and all
your open positions may be liquidated. To avoid liquidation of your
positions, do not use your entire account balance as margin for
open positions. Instead, leave enough funds in your account to withstand
a market movement against your open positions. We suggest you always
use stop loss orders to limit your downside risk.
Please contact CB client services should you wish at any time to
use a lower degree of leverage or otherwise adjust the margin settings
in your account.
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Rollovers
CB clients have the opportunity to earn interest on positions left
open overnight - at all margin levels. The amount of interest that
can be earned depends on the direction of the open position and
the interest rate differential between the two currencies involved.
For example, UK interest rates are significantly higher than Japan's,
so if a trader is long GBP/JPY (i.e. holding British Pounds), they
can earn interest on the roll. Conversely, if a trader is short
GBP/JPY (i.e. holding yen) they will pay interest on the rollover.
CB automatically rolls forward all open positions to the next day's
value date following the close of NY trading at 1700 GMT. Rollover
credits or debits are reflected in the unrealized P&L of the
open position, and a rollover report (available in the "Reports"
tab of the trading platform) provides additional detail of rollover
activity.
Daily Housekeeping
Daily Housekeeping
will occur each evening at 17:00GMT and will last approximately
5 minutes. During that time, back office staff will conduct daily
rolls and important system maintenance tasks will be performed.
Online trading may be unavailable, but we will accept phone orders.
Confirmations
Deals are confirmed on screen, typically within one second. Full
transaction details may be accessed on screen as well, including
date, time, rate, notional amount bought and sold, USD value, and
reference number.
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Reporting
The dealing software tracks all trading activity in real time, allowing
clients to view current open positions, real-time profit and loss,
margin availability, account balances, and all historical transaction
details directly on-screen.
In addition, by clicking on the 'reports' tab on the menu bar, clients
may access five ad hoc reports:
Account Value Summary - an online monthly account statement. View
current account balance (realized P&L) for a selected month,
as well as all deposits, withdrawals, interest earned, and fees
charged (if any).
Detailed Transaction Listing - lists complete trade detail for any
selected date range, including deal date, currency pair dealt, trade
direction (buy or sell), contract size for both currencies in the
pair dealt, and executed deal rate.
Open FX Positions - a summary view of all open positions, including
contract size, USD value, average rate of open positions, reval
rate (current market rate), and unrealized P&L. This report
supplements real-time position information available in the position
management screen of the trading platform.
Order History - provides detail on all order activity for a selected
data range, including order entry date and time stamp, listing of
all cancelled and/or executed orders, along with its reference number.
The Log Entry column provides a confirmation number and action detail
for any order.
Rollover History - provides rollover details for any transaction
held open past 17:00 GMT, including rollover rate and USD value.
May be generated for any given date range.
Note: All reports can be printed and/or exported into Microsoft
Excel via a simple cut and paste.
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Account Statements
Customer account statements are provided online in the Reports section
of the trading platform. Customers have access to a full suite of
available reports, including account value summary, detailed transaction
listing, open positions, etc. Reports may be generated for any date
range, and printed or saved for future reference.
Withdrawal Requests
To withdraw funds from an existing account, please login to MyAccount.
Withdrawal requests are processed within two (2) business days of
receipt. There is no fee for withdrawal requests via check. Withdrawal
requests via wire transfer will incur a $25 fee for wires within
the United States, and $40 fee for international wires (including
Canada).
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Funding Your Account
There are four easy ways to fund your account.
Existing clients may fund their trading account immediately by logging
into MyAccount.
1. Wire Transfer - The fastest way to fund your account
Funds sent via wire are typically received by CB within 1-2 business
days. All wire transfers should include the client's name and account
number in the reference section of the wire. Please be sure that
the beneficiary is listed as CB.
2. Credit Card*
Deposits via Visa accepted.
You must login to MyAccount to fund
your account via credit card.
*All card-based transactions are automatically converted to US
Dollars; you may incur additional fees by your card issuer for currency
conversion.
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