Citi keeps top spot in FX trading as European banks slump -poll

LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) - European banks Deutsche Bank,Barclays and UBS have seen their market share in foreignexchange trading slump in the past year, as U.S. banks led byCitigroup grabbed business, according to widely watchedindustry rankings.

Citigroup kept its top spot as the leading foreign exchangetrading bank with a market share of 16.1 percent, up from 16percent a year ago, according to the Euromoney FX Survey 2015.

Deutsche Bank and Barclays remained insecond and third spots, but their market shares fell to 14.5percent from 15.7 percent and to 8.1 percent from 10.9 percent,respectively.

UBS fell to fifth from fourth as its market shareslumped to 7.3 percent from 10.9 percent, and HSBC dropped to seventh from fifth with a market share of 5.4 percentfrom 7.1 percent a year ago.

U.S. banks made strong gains on their European rivals.

JPMorgan moved to fourth as its market share rose to7.7 percent from 5.6 percent and Bank of America Merrill Lynch rose to sixth with a 6.2 percent share, up from 4.4percent.

Euromoney, whose annual poll of liquidity consumption iswatched closely by the foreign exchange (FX) industry, said amajority of business was conducted electronically for the firsttime in the past year, with e-channel execution accounting for53.2 percent of total volumes, up from 47 percent in 2014 and 40percent in 2011.

The shift to electronic trading is adding to change acrossthe industry, as banks come under pressure to change businessmodels to focus on areas of strength and cut back where theylack scale.

Two years of scandal over market manipulation and thefallout of a 30 percent move in minutes by the Swiss franc inJanuary have led many banks to reassess their FX operations,traditionally among their biggest and most reliable earners.

One of the previous leaders, Royal Bank of Scotland,has fallen away and other European banks, striving to find newbusiness models in response to a raft of new regulation andgenerally tighter margins on FX trading, have slashed staffingon trading floors.

The industry was rocked last year by allegations of marketrigging, and authorities in the United States and Europe havefined seven banks over $10 billion for failing to stop tradersfrom trying to manipulate rates. (Reporting by Steve Slater and Patrick Graham; Editing by MarkPotter)