Risk magazine/News
Credit Markets Update: European spreads drift wider due to negative sentiment
Credit default swap spreads in Europe drifted gradually wider during the week, reacting to weakness in the equity markets and general economic pessimism. Five-year debt protection spreads were 30 to 40 basis points wider on European telecoms, 3-8bp wider…
XL London Market appoints risk director
XL London Market, an insurance syndicate at Lloyd’s of London, has appointed Paul Drake as director of risk management, a newly created position.
OCC promotes Cahill to president
The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), the US clearing organisation for financial derivatives, has promoted Michael Cahill to the post of president and chief operating officer, effective July 1.
Japan Credit Market Update: Investors run for Sumitomo cover ahead of jumbo debt offer
The banking and electronic sectors were the most traded in Japan’s credit default swap market this week, driven by a new jumbo subordinated debt offer from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and continued interest in the electronics sector.
Update: Fitch calls for notching debate
Fitch Ratings today called for an open forum debate on the practice of collateralised debt obligation notching. Fitch released a report yesterday slamming its rival Moody’s for notching bonds in CDOs that Moody’s did not originally rate. Fitch claims the…
BMO aims to boost credit derivatives sales with new hires
The Bank of Montreal (BMO) plans to boost its credit business in London following its hire of Emma Vassallo and Lucile de Carbonnières as managing directors of its credit derivatives group.
Market alarmed by French securitisation ruling
A proposal by the Commission Bancaire, the French banking regulator, to change the capital risk weighting system on all French securitisations, has caused consternation among market participants. The proposal, introduced in a bulletin on April 26,…
Fitch hits back at Moody's in CDO ratings row
Rating agency Fitch moved to defend its standing in the collateralised debt obligation (CDO) rating market by slating the ‘notching’ practices used by rival rating agency Moody’s in a formal report yesterday.
Risk 2002 USA: Deutsche’s Kühborth says op risk is about managing people
Deutsche Bank managing director for operational risk, Gerd Kühborth, told delegates at Risk magazine’s Risk 2002 USA conference late yesterday that effective operational risk boiled down to sound people management.
NAB offers soft commodity hedging in Australia
National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched a range of soft commodity hedging products to cater for the country's large agricultural sector.
ZCM forms new risk advisory group
Zurich Capital Markets (ZCM), the New York-based alternative asset management firm, has formed a new risk advisory unit in Australia, and appointed John Martin, formerly of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), as managing director of the group.
FT Interactive Data launches BondEdge CMO/ABS Analyzer
FT Interactive Data, a provider of financial information and analytical software based in Bedford, Massachusetts, today launched its CMO/ABS Analyzer, an interactive Web-based application providing information and analytics on more than 9,000 US dollar…
Risk 2002 USA: Convertible arb funds could face liquidity risk concerns, says Soros Fund risk head
The rash of new convertible arbitrage funds in the market has created concerns about liquidity risk problems, according to Peruvemba Satish, director of risk management and reporting at Soros Fund Management in New York.
BMA and IIF issue new proposals to protect sovereign debt investors
The heads of six major financial bodies, including the Bond Market Association (BMA) and the Institute of International Finance (IIF), have issued a list of principles to enhance creditor protection in cases of sovereign debt restructuring.
Credit Markets Update: Williams hit due to energy investigation
Continued federal enquiries and a credit downgrade for US energy trader and gas pipeline operator Williams caused five-year debt protection spreads on the company to widen a further 30 basis points this week, after its spreads swelled 200bp last week and…
JP Morgan sees mixed results in Risk ’s 2002 end-user derivatives rankings
JP Morgan Chase, the world’s largest derivatives house, managed only a fourth-place position in the non-financial companies section of Risk ’s 2002 end-user derivatives rankings. But the US financial group dominated the asset management rankings, with a…
PRMIA issues draft bylaws
The Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) today issued its draft bylaws outlining the internal structure and responsibilities of the group.
Risk 2002 USA: credit risk transfer under the spotlight
Robin Lenna - head of portfolio management at FleetBoston Financial - highlighted the important role of insurers in the credit risk transfer market at the Risk 2002 USA conference in Boston today, while Carl Groth - a director at Willis Structured…
IAIS credit risk transfer investigation sees worrying trends
The Basel-based International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), which represents insurance supervisory authorities of some 100 jurisdictions, said it is concerned that some insurance companies active in the $1 trillion credit derivatives…
Blue Bay signs with SunGard
Blue Bay Asset Management, the London-based alternative investment firm established on July 3 last year, has licensed SunGard Trading and Risk Systems’ Panorama application for risk management and Decalog for decision support and compliance of its hedge…
FX volatility fuels earnings hope
Banks are expecting to see increased forex trading revenues for the second quarter from increased volatility in the major currencies, officials told RiskNews ’ sister publication FX Week .
Correction: UBS says no figure available for derivatives staff cuts in London
UBS Warburg, the investment banking arm of Switzerland’s UBS, which is axing 10% of its investment banking staff in London, said it could provide no overall figure for its cuts in derivatives staff numbers today.
Dresdner recruits derivatives marketers from JP Morgan Chase in Tokyo
German investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has recruited two JP Morgan Chase officials to fill vacant positions in its fixed-income derivatives team in Tokyo.
Risk 2002 USA: World Bank’s Perlin questions validity of risk model assumptions
The World Bank’s chief financial officer, Gary Perlin, questioned whether some of the broad assumptions used in risk modelling were still valid in the current economic climate today during a keynote address at Risk magazine’s Risk 2002 USA conference in…