Articles by Lukas Becker
Fallback dodgers walking a difficult path
Firms avoiding signing the Isda protocol will face challenges, say industry figures
XVA traders have no time to rest on laurels
Markets have calmed, but they may not be out of the woods yet
How Shell integrated FX algos into its corporate treasury mix
Interview: oil giant puts up to 50% of spot flows through algos, explains FX head Michael Dawson
Inside March madness with Citi’s Tuchman
Interview: Trading rooms went virtual, central banks stepped up – but some platforms flopped
European banks seek capital relief for CVA hedges
Volatile trading in March caused CVA hedges to dominate market risk RWAs at some smaller dealers
FVA losses back in spotlight after coronavirus stress
Three US banks suffer combined loss of almost $2bn after rates and funding double whammy
How carbon-cutting Drax manages currencies and credit
Interview: UK power giant uses option selling – and other tactics – to create hedging headroom
FX vol revived by Covid-19 – but for how long?
Traders split on whether virus impact, or central bank responses, will prove most powerful
Swaps liquidity slumps as Treasury stress spreads
Big buy-side participants report “worst day” for market depth in 10 years, as spreads widen and prices gap
Bonds and swaps struggled in virus volatility
Low liquidity and wider spreads amplified by remote working, traders claim
For FX dealers, virus brings volumes
Mixed feelings for sell-side traders as Covid-19 spurs wave of speculation and hedging
Dealers cast doubt on swaptions compensation plans
Redress scheme for victims of post-Libor valuation change may fail due to “cherry-picking” fears
FX options see record volumes as yen goes off-script
Coronavirus outbreak and recession fears trigger frenzied trading in USD/JPY options
Who killed FX volatility?
Beyond central bank policy, traders see a range of hidden structural factors at work
Morgan Stanley FX loss leaves ill-feeling, questions in wake
Options traders saw odd quotes by US bank months before losses were publicised
Bank disruptors: a ‘token’ effort from UBS
The utility settlement coin will kick-start trading of digital assets, says Chris Purves
EU compounding confusion creates headaches for banks
With the fallback possibly illegal in some EU states, loan system updates may become more complicated
MVA taking the long road to acceptance
Four years on, the adjustment is still not a standard part of non-cleared swap pricing
€STR swap trading gets under way
HSBC and JP Morgan strike first swap linked to the new euro short-term rate
Eurex to adopt €STR flat discounting for Euribor swaps
Switch planned for Q2 of 2020, with a single cash payment to correct value transfers
Isda sets two options for Libor fallback spread
Historical spread adjustment to be based on five-year median or 10-year mean
Dealers rush to redeem high-yielding structured notes
An estimated $60 billion of structured notes are at risk of being called before year-end
Splits emerge over ‘pre-cessation’ fallback triggers
CCPs say cleared swaps will move to new rates if Libor is no longer representative of markets
Trading venues could help enforce the forex code
ECNs have the power to boost last look disclosures, but aren’t keen to be the code police