
CITIFX PRO FOREIGN CURRENCY ACCESS AND TRADING ACCOUNT RISK DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
In consideration of Citibank, N.A. or any of its affiliates (“Citi”) agreeing to enter into over-the-counter (“OTC”) foreign currency contracts with you, you acknowledge, understand and agree that:
Trading Is Speculative and Involves a High Degree of Risk. Trading in OTC foreign currency contracts is speculative and involves a high degree of risk. In particular, because your foreign currency trading will be conducted by use of margin (which covers only a small percentage of the value of the foreign currency traded), price changes in OTC foreign currency contracts may result in significant losses, which losses may under some circumstances substantially exceed the funds you may transfer to Citi as margin. Therefore, foreign currency contracts are appropriate only for persons that (a) understand and are willing to assume the economic, legal and other risks involved in such transactions, and (b) are financially able to withstand losses significantly in excess of their initial margin funds and any additional funds transferred to Citi to maintain their positions.
Currency Risks. Foreign currencies represent the legal tender of one or more foreign nations and normally are not linked to any intrinsically valuable commodity (such as precious metals). Any transaction involving foreign currencies, including OTC foreign currency contracts, involves risks not common to investments denominated entirely in a person’s domestic currency. Such enhanced risks include (but are not limited to) the risks of political or economic policy changes in a foreign nation, which may substantially and permanently alter the conditions, terms, marketability or price of a foreign currency. The profit or loss in transactions in foreign currency-denominated contracts (whether they are traded in your own or another jurisdiction) will also be affected by fluctuations in currency rates where there is a need to convert from the currency denomination of the contract to another currency.
Effect of Spreads and Interest Charges. Prices quoted to you by Citi will include a spread, mark-up, or mark-down when compared to prices that Citi may receive or expect to receive in covering its transactions with you in the interbank market or with another party. While dealing spreads are common in the foreign exchange markets, the total impact of spreads may be significant in relation to the size of the margin you post and may make it more difficult for you to realize a profit from your trading. In addition, in connection with the automatic roll of spot foreign exchange transactions that you do not close out, Citi may impose an interest charge. You should carefully consider the effect of such interest charges along with spreads, mark-ups, or mark-downs on your ability to profit from trading.
Risk Reducing Orders or Strategies. The placing of certain orders (e.g., ‘stop-loss’ or ‘stop-limit’ orders) that are intended to limit losses to certain amounts may not always be effective because market conditions or technological limitations may make it impossible to execute such orders.
Obligation to Maintain Required Margin. Citi’s margin policies require you to maintain at all times such margins as Citi, in its sole discretion, may from time to time request. Citi will exercise considerable discretion in setting and collecting margin. Without limiting the foregoing, you understand that, if the amount of margin credited to your account falls below the maintenance margin level established by Citi for trading on CitiFX Pro (which will be specified as a percentage of your initial margin requirement in regard to each currency pair available for trading), Citi will call for additional margin to be deposited in the Account. Unless otherwise specified by Citi, you will be required meet the margin call no later than the close of business on the day such request is received. Further, if you fail to provide additional margin within the time required by Citi or if the amount of margin credited to your account is for any reason reduced to an amount equal to or exceeding fifty percent (50%) of initial margin requirement, Citi may liquidate any or all of your open positions and you will be responsible for all losses resulting from such liquidation.
Margin Deposits. All funds you transfer for margin will be held by Citi with the funds of other counterparties maintaining OTC foreign currency accounts with Citi. All benefits associated with such omnibus accounts, including any interest accruing on the funds held therein, will be retained exclusively by Citi. Your margin funds will not be covered by FDIC insurance.
Prices and Valuations Are Set By Citi and May Be Different from Prices Reported Elsewhere. Citi will provide prices to be used in trading and valuing your positions. Although Citi expects that these prices will be reasonably related to prices available in the interbank market, prices reported by Citi may vary from prices available to other participants in the interbank market. Citi is authorized to convert funds in your Account for margin into and from such foreign currency at a rate of exchange determined by Citi, in its sole discretion.
One Click Trading. The electronic system that Citi is making available for your use for trading foreign currencies (“CitiFX Pro”) provides for transmission of your order once you enter the notional amount and click “Buy/Sell” with no ability to then re-confirm or alter the terms of your order. There is no “second look” before transmission, and market orders cannot be cancelled. This feature may be different from other trading systems. By using CitiFX Pro, you agree to the one-click system and accept the risk of this one-click transmission feature.
Electronic Trading. Trading in OTC foreign currency contracts through the CitiFX Pro system may differ from trading on other electronic trading systems as well as from trading in a conventional or open market. Counterparties that trade on an electronic trading system are exposed to risks associated with the system including but not limited to the failure of hardware and software and system downtime, with respect to CitiFX Pro, an individual counterparty’s system(s), and the communications infrastructure (including, without limitation, the Internet), connecting CitiFX Pro with Citi’s counterparties. As a result of any system failure or other interruption, orders either may not be executed according to your instructions or may not be executed at all, or you may not be able to place or change orders or view your trading positions or market data. Citi will not be liable for any such failure of hardware or software, system downtime or communications interruption. Further, Citi does not warrant that it (or any counterparty) will be able to maintain a continuous and uninterrupted link with the Internet and will have no liability for any such failure. Some or all of the essential components of the CitiFX Pro system may be provided or supported by one or more third parties under contract with Citi, and the operation of CitiFX Pro may be dependent on such third parties.
Citi as Principal. Citi acts as the counterparty to all foreign currency contracts executed through CitiFX Pro. Citi is not required to continue to make markets in foreign currency and may refuse to accept any order for any or no reason, including but not limited to the failure of a counterparty to have sufficient funds maintained with Citi to margin the position, market volatility and illiquidity in the related interbank foreign currency market. In particular, during periods of market volatility, it may be difficult or impossible to liquidate an existing position, to assess the value of open positions, to determine a fair price or to assess the exposure to risk. For these reasons, transactions in foreign currency involve increased risks.
No Guarantee of Payment. Foreign currency trading with Citi is not conducted on a regulated market or exchange. There is no clearinghouse and no guarantee by any other party of Citi’s payment obligations to you. You must look only to Citi for performance on all foreign currency contracts in your Account and for return of any margin. The insolvency of Citi or a default by Citi could cause you to lose the value of your Account and to suffer additional losses from open positions.
Citi is not an Adviser or a Fiduciary. Citi, in its sole discretion, may make available market information and/or market color via CitiFX Pro. Any such market information or market color does not constitute an offer to buy or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, any foreign currency contracts, nor is it intended to be advice or a recommendation of any kind. Each decision by you to enter into a foreign currency contract with Citi and each decision whether a foreign currency contract is appropriate or proper for you is an independent decision by you. Citi is not acting as an adviser or serving as a fiduciary to you. You should obtain advice from your tax, financial, legal, and other advisors and only make trading decisions on the basis of your own objectives, experiences, evaluation, and resources. You agree that Citi has no fiduciary duty to you and no liability in connection therewith and is not responsible for any liabilities, claims, losses, damages, costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred in connection with your use of market information or market color provided by Citi. If you receive research, market information, or any form of advice from Citi or any of its affiliates through means other than CitiFX Pro, it should not form the basis of your trading decisions implemented on or through CitiFX Pro.
Conflicts. You should assume that Citi may trade as a principal in foreign currencies and related financial instruments in various markets. Citi and its employees who trade foreign currency may have access to information that is not available to you, may have acquired trading positions at prices that are not available to you, and may have interests different from or adverse to your interests. In providing you with access to CitiFX Pro and entering into transactions with you, Citi and its employees do not undertake any obligation to provide you with market or other information they may possess, or to alter or refrain from their own trading.
Account Managers. In the event that you grant trading authority or control over your Account to a third party (“Account Manager”), whether on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis, Citi will in no way be responsible for reviewing your choice of such Account Manager or for making any recommendations with respect thereto. Citi makes no representations or warranties concerning any Account Manager; Citi will not be responsible for any loss to you occasioned by the actions of the Account Manager; and Citi does not, by implication or otherwise, endorse or approve of the operating methods of the Account Manager. If you give the Account Manager authority to exercise any of your rights over your Account, you do so at your risk. Although you grant authority to Account Manager, you should be diligent and closely scrutinize all account activity. Citi provides online Account access at http://www.citifxpro.com, whereby you may view your Account Activity.
Quoting Errors. Should a quoting error occur due to a mistype of a quote or a misquote given by telephone and/or electronic means (including responses to your requests), Citi is not liable for any resulting errors in your Account and reserves the right to make necessary corrections or adjustments with respect to the Account involved. Any dispute arising from such quoting errors will be resolved on the basis of the fair market value, as determined by Citi, in its sole discretion, of the relevant foreign currency at the time such error occurred. In cases where the prevailing market represents prices different from the prices Citi has posted on our screen, Citi will endeavor to execute trades on or close to the prevailing market prices, if available, or at prices that Citi deems to be reasonable. These prices will be the prices that are ultimately reflected on the reports to you. This may or may not adversely affect your realized and unrealized gains and losses.