News
WTC-hit derivatives houses maintain ratings
International rating agency Moody’s has confirmed the ratings on five derivatives firms, following initial concern that the houses, all located in or near the World Trade Center, would be adversely affected by the terrorist attacks of 11 September.
Canada’s Royal Bank signs up to Algo Credit Evaluator
RBC Dominion Securities (RBC DS) has joined Bank One in conducting beta tests of Algorithmics' Algo Credit Evaluator (ACV), a credit evaluation tool developed by the Toronto-based risk analytics vendor.
Isda introduces online information resource
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda) has introduced a new online information resource for its members called netalytics, which covers the validity and enforceability of the close-out netting provisions of the Isda master agreements…
Patsystems launches mobile access
Trading software designer patsystems has launched a new product that it claims will give traders remote access to all leading derivatives exchanges
OpenLink appoints Findur sales head
Financial and energy trading and risk management software solutions provider OpenLink International has appointed John Lister as sales manager for its Findur treasury system and suite of financial tools. Findur is a fully integrated front-through-back…
DSTi forms trading alliance with SunGard
DST International (DSTi), an order-processing provider to the fund management industry, has formed a strategic alliance with SunGard Trading Systems that will allow fund managers to fully integrate DSTi's portfolio management services with SunGard's…
Freddie Mac names Sannini as corporate controller
Freddie Mac has made Edmond Sannini a senior vice-president and corporate controller with responsibility for the US mortgage securitisation corporation's accounting and control function.
Moody's forms Basel II advisory group
Moody’s Risk Management Services (MRMS) has formed a 'BIS II implementation advisory group' that will help clients establish internal credit rating approaches in line with changes to capital requirements for banks, proposed by the Basel Committee on…
Donation fuels Cambridge’s research ambitions
William Janeway, vice-chairman at Warburg Pincus, a leading New York private equity firm, has donated $10 million to the University of Cambridge’s Judge Institute business school. The money will fund research into the links between the risk management…
eAcumen launches weather risk platform
San Francisco-based risk technology firm, eAcumen, has launched the core module of WeatherBook, a quantitative weather risk management platform that prices weather derivatives and simulated portfolios using a proprietary simulation algorithm.
ACBM moves to make convertibles less risky
The Association of Convertible Bond Management (ACBM) has drawn up a series of new recommendations to protect investors from non-standard convertible bond issue terms. The standardisation and clarification guidelines are seen as an important measure to…
Blewitt exits creditex for BofA
Former creditex chief strategic officer Dik Blewitt has been hired by Bank of America in New York as a managing director in its structured credit products group. Blewitt will structure credit products using credit derivatives for pension funds and…
The shifting sands of Basel II
Four months after the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision closed the consultation period on its January 2001 draft for a new international capital Accord, it has already made major amendments to its proposal.
Cantor names new executives
Cantor Fitzgerald has named new managers to its sister business eSpeed to replace those lost in the World Trade Center tragedy. The broker lost nearly 700 of its 1,000 staff in the tragedy, which has now claimed more than 6,000 lives.
CLS hit by yet more set-backs
CLS (Continuous Linked Settlement) Bank, a financial industry initiative established to mitigate settlement risk in the foreign exchange market, has been forced to once again delay the launch of its service. The latest estimate for the start of CLS…
Basel II regulators lighten Pillar 3 disclosure burden
Global banking regulators said they are significantly reducing the amount of information they will require from banks under a key provision of the proposed Basel II banking accord.
Basel cuts op risk charge benchmark to 12%
Global banking regulators will base their proposed capital charge for operational risk on a 12% benchmark, down from the controversial 20% originally proposed.
Ernst & Young boosts UK credit risk services
Ernst & Young, the international professional services firm, has ramped up its risk management services practice headed by Tim Pagett, by hiring ING Barings’ former global head of risk management infrastructure Robert Endersby.
German exchanges offer US equity products
Deutsche Borse and Eurex, owned by Deutsche Borse and the Swiss Exchange, have launched a tranche of new US stocks and futures to be traded in Europe. The initiative is designed to enable members to trade 10 euro-denominated stock options on US equities,…
GFInet launches new credit derivatives service
GFInet, the online interdealer broking service of GFI, has launched a Credit Default Swap Mark-to-Market (MTM) service today. The product will enable GFI, one of the largest brokers in the credit derivatives market, to make its comprehensive market price…
SGX to launch single-stock futures on October 26
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) will launch 15 single-stock futures contracts on October 26. The contracts are based on underlying blue chip stocks listed on SGX’s securities market, and include names like Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, DBS Group,…
ABI to run op risk database next year
The Italian Banks Association (ABI) will have a fully functional operational loss database supported by information from Italy's largest banks by the second half of next year.
Indian banks move to upgrade risk technology
A number of Indian banks have been upgrading their risk technology in a bid to meet Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines on prudent risk management practices issued in 1999.
Basel scraps 'w' charge from pillar 1
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has reacted to strong industry criticism of its controversial 'w' charge by scrapping it from pillar 1, regulatory capital, of its proposed new regulatory capital requirements – Basel II. It will now be included…