Articles by Lukas Becker
Dealers warm to SOFR swaptions but buy side lags
Rate accounted for nearly half of new notional last week, but operational issues slow end-user uptake
Blame to spare in UK energy supplier debacle
Price cap was part of the problem, but lack of hedging and oversight also contributed
Morgan Stanley bests Citi as top forwards shop for US funds
Counterparty Radar: A $30bn boost from Vanguard sends MS to top of Q2 charts
Algo sniffers make a tough business tougher
FX spot is already a hard game for many LPs and the rise of skew sniping only makes things harder
Jumbo trades propel BNPP, TD up forwards rankings
Counterparty Radar: In Q1 2021 data, outsiders are eating into US banks’ business with domestic funds
How Brexit split Aegon’s euro swaps book
Years-long effort saw trades quietly move to Frankfurt – but firm wants continued access to LCH
Could prime of primes go pop?
The PoP market is booming, but some tier one banks are wary
Vanguard, FX forwards kingmaker
Counterparty Radar: How the fund giant influenced banks’ overall forwards fortunes in 2020
Tighter RMB rates basis brings new hedging opportunities
Increasing alignment between CNH and CNY benchmarks opens door to more cross-currency hedging by foreign lenders
Drax commits to ESG-linked FX derivative targets with UK banks
Renewable energy supplier applies long-term ESG KPIs to short-term FX trades with Barclays and NatWest
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