Independent.ie The former chief executive of collapsed spread betting firm WorldSpreads, Conor Foley, presented what the London High Court described as "astonishing" pleas as he unsuccessfully battled an effort by the firm to secure the repayment of £309,000 (€390,000).

AIM-listed Worldspreads spectacularly imploded in 2012, after the firm revealed a €12m shortfall in its accounts. That put the assets of about 15,000 retail customers at risk.

It was placed in administration by the UK's Financial Services Authority.

The court heard that between 2008 and 2012, Mr Foley, who had founded and controlled 17pc of WorldSpreads, had "adopted the habit" of requesting employees of UK-registered WorldSpreads who worked in the accounts department to make payments to him or for his benefit.

There were 81 requests in total, the court heard, amounting to just over £540,000 (€682,000).

Mr Foley also made £231,000 in repayments to WorldSpreads. The company - which was originally founded in Dublin in 2000 - wanted him to pay back the remainder with interest.

The executive had contended that the money was due to him from WorldSpreads by way of remuneration or expenses, a claim that the court said was "simply unfounded".

The court was told by the judge that an amended defence put forward by his legal team seemed to display "considerable ingenuity" as to why Mr Foley shouldn't have to repay the money.

The judge said those arguments were "totally devoid of merit or common sense".

The judge hearing the case in London said that Mr Foley had put forward arguments that were "intellectually challenging" and "wildly improbable".

A number of arguments put forward by his counsel on his behalf during the trial were later abandoned.

The court also said that he had put forward pleas that were "frankly unreal", including a claim by Mr Foley that WorldSpreads had benefited from "unjust enrichment" through Mr Foley's employment as he had not been adequately remunerated. The court ruled in favour of WorldSpreads.

Mr Foley resigned from WordSpreads just days before financial irregularities emerged at the firm, but he insisted at the time that he had not known of those irregularities before he left the company and that his decision to step down had been "completely unrelated".

UK spread betting and CFD provider CMC Markets has announced upgrades to its iOS and Android mobile applications.

Enhancements include a new menu navigation, greater chart functionality, and a new design closer to that of CMC's desktop platform. 

The company has also introduced Morningstar Quantitative Equity Research Reports across the majority of CFD (contract for difference) and spread bet share offerings, as well as daily updates providing clients with access to the latest data and quantitative analysis.

CMC said that  some 75 per cent of its clients use the trader's mobile platform, with the firm achieving 1m mobile trades for the first time earlier this year in March, with further growth forecast. 

Cruddas, CEO and founder of CMC Markets, said: "Changes in social behaviour now dictate how most companies interact with customers. The number of clients choosing to use smartphones or tablets over desktop computers is one of the fastest changes I've seen in the industry. 

"This is why we're so committed to developing and supporting the most intuitive and advanced mobile apps we can." 

CMC Markets' co-head of product development Craig Inglis saidthat approximately 40 per cent of the company's total global business was transacted via mobile platforms and 20 per cent of clients trade exclusively through a mobile app. 

"When planning our latest upgrade, we spoke directly to active traders to ensure we focused on the right areas and identified how the general usability experience could be optimised," said Inglis. "We also learnt that there was a clear appetite for an expansion of our equity analysis and research offering which has led to the introduction of the Morningstar Quantitative Equity Research Reports on both our mobile apps and desktop platform. 

"Overall, the changes will give users a much more powerful and intuitive trading experience."

IG Group Holdings Plc (IGG), the U.K. spread-betting firm, is set to start operations in Geneva today, close to the private banks it hopes to win as customers.
The London-based company chose Geneva partly because many institutional customers it wants to do business with are located in the city, said Fouad Bajjali, chief executive officer of IG Bank SA, IG's Swiss-licensed banking unit. The company also plans to target independent asset managers, family offices and retail clients.
"Time will tell whether" Swiss private banks "will have to open up to new products, to new revenue streams, or not," Bajjali said. "Initial conversations are promising."
IG Group says it's the world's biggest provider of contracts for difference, financial instruments that allow clients to bet on future movements of a security without owning it. It's opening in Switzerland as foreign banks depart the Alpine nation amid increasing compliance burdens.
Bajjali said IG Bank is aiming to reach 13 million pounds ($21 million) to 16 million pounds in annual revenue over the next four to five years. IG Group posted 414 million pounds in revenue during its last fiscal year, ended May 31.
Individuals using IG's trading products should provide as much as 70 percent of the firm's revenue in Switzerland, with the rest coming from institutions, Bajjali said. IG Group already has about 2,000 customers in Switzerland who trade using the company's operations in other countries, he said.
"We are probably not expecting to open as many accounts here as we do in other European countries," Bajjali said. "But we do expect those accounts to be of higher value."
'Barbarically Competitive'
IG group also aims to win customers in Switzerland by charging less than its local competitors, which include Saxo Bank A/S, Swissquote Group Holding SA and Dukascopy Bank SA, Bajjali said.
"Our commission structures are very competitive for European rates already," Bajjali said. "So in Switzerland, we are barbarically competitive."
Last year, 10 foreign institutions ceased operations in the country, leaving about 120 remaining, according to the annual report of the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland released in May.