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Logo ACI Suisse - The Swiss chapter of ACI International
  1. Profes­sional Ethics

Integrity is our most valuable currency

ACI FMA has always encouraged its membership to acknowledge, respect and adhere to principles of ethical behaviour. ACI produced the first industry-wide guidance of best practice for OTC foreign exchange and related markets in the form of the “ACI Model Code”. The ACI Model Code was regularly updated until it was retired in 2017 with the publication of the FX Global Code. Leading up to the introduction of the FX Global Code, ACI FMA members contributed strongly to its creation, as well as other code of conduct initiatives.

The FX Global Code

The FX Global Code is a set of global principles of good practice in the foreign exchange market, developed to provide a common set of guidelines to promote the integrity and effective functioning of the wholesale foreign exchange market. It was developed by a partnership between central banks and market participants from 20 jurisdictions around the globe.

The Code complements local laws and regulations but does not impose legal or regulatory obligations on market participants. Instead, it serves as a reference for market participants when conducting FX transactions and when developing or reviewing their internal procedures.

The latest version of the FX Global Code (December 2024 version), which supersedes the July 2021 version, was published by the Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC) in January 2025.

Download the FX Global Code (Opens in new tab/window.)

Core Principles of the FX Global Code:

  1. Ethics

    Market participants are expected to behave in an ethical and professional manner to promote the fairness and integrity of the FX market.

  2. Governance

    Market participants are expected to have a sound and effective governance framework to provide for clear responsibility for and comprehensive oversight of their FX market activity and to promote responsible engagement in the FX market.

  3. Execution

    Market participants are expected to exercise care when negotiating and executing transactions in order to promote a robust, fair, open, liquid, and appropriately transparent FX market.

  4. Information Sharing

    Market participants are expected to be clear and accurate in their communications and to protect confidential information to promote effective communication that supports a robust, fair, open, liquid, and appropriately transparent FX market.

  5. Risk Management and Compliance

    Market participants are expected to promote and maintain a robust control and compliance environment to effectively identify, manage, and report on the risks associated with their engagement in the FX market.

  6. Confir­ma­tion and Settlement

    Market participants are expected to put in place robust, efficient, transparent, and risk-mitigating post-trade processes to promote the predictable, smooth, and timely settlement of transactions in the FX market.

Global Precious Metals Code

The Global Precious Metals Code sets out the standards and best practice expected from market participants in the global Over The Counter (OTC) wholesale market for precious metals.  As well as market conventions, the code covers the principles that should be adopted by market participants, including  ethics, compliance, governance and risk management, as well as pre-trade, execution and post-trade business conduct.

The code (latest version as of December 2022) has been prepared by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), following an extensive period of consultation with market participants, other representative bodies and relevant authorities. It is intended to be a reference point for standards for all market participants, not just LBMA members.

UK Money Market Code

The UK Money Markets Code is a voluntary code written by market participants and endorsed by the Money Markets Committee, chaired by the Bank of England. The code sets out such standards and the best practice expected from market participants in the deposit, repo and securities lending markets in the United Kingdom.

ACI FMA Handbook

The ACI FMA Handbook, Our Best Practices and Further Guidance: Reinforcing Industry Codes (ACI FMA Handbook) is intended to support the existing codes of conduct (FX Global Code, Global Precious Metals Code, UK Money Markets Code) by reinforcing their best practice guidelines. The ACI FMA Handbook was produced by ACI FMA in 2022 and is available for free to ACI Suisse members.