Feature
In-house changes: the use of in-house lawyers
The role of in-house lawyers in hedge fund management companies is changing all the time. Hedge Funds Reviewtalks to general counsel about their jobs.
Setting risk appetite: know what you want
OpRisk examines the practical application of the concepts of risk appetite, the risk ceiling and the risk profile, taking a broad look at who should decide risk appetite, how it should be articulated, in what context (and to what extent) and what the…
EU reform: the devil’s in the detail
It’s all very well to make grand statements about the need for a new financial supervision framework in Europe, but can the EU work out the practicalities of reform?
The EBRD pioneers in risk
The EBRD’s mission is to bring governance and funds to eastern Europe, and the way op risk figures in its strategy is different to any commercial bank. But it is no less challenging, say Mike Williams, the EBRD’s head of risk and compliance, and Julie…
Remuneration: it's payback time
Disgruntled taxpayers and their political representatives are set on revenge, making bankers pay for their mistakes through compensation taxes and restrictions. But a more constructive approach will be needed to sustainably reform such a complex and…
StanChart's Cherriman harnesses people power
Andrew Cherriman, head of operational risk management for wholesale banking at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, says his ability to rely on expert staff is the key to operating a sound risk management system across the bank’s many jurisdictions.
Summing up VAR
There are a number of approaches to building the IT systems architecture required for historical simulation value-at-risk implementations. What are the pros and cons associated with these architectures? And why does the risk-aggregator approach overcome…
Where there’s a will…
Living wills have quickly emerged as a new measure to ensure banks are better prepared for the next crisis. But clear definitions of exactly what information they should contain and how they should be drawn up do not exist. Joel Clark reports
Scuppered by sukuk
Dubai World was bailed out by Abu Dhabi in December, but the near default of sukuk issued by Dubai property company Nakheel could have much broader implications for the development of Islamic finance. By John Ferry
A reversal of power
Investor demand for power reverse dual currency structures has fallen off a cliff as these once high coupon-paying instruments have morphed into zero coupon bonds with lock-in periods of up to 30 years. Issuers have also incurred significant costs. Is…
Profiting from CDOs
Investors that snapped up cash bonds and other simple credit assets at the start of last year have made large profits as the credit market rallied strongly in 2009. While many of the obvious credit opportunities have disappeared, some market participants…
Riding out the rise
Stakeholders in the Asian recovery have a nervous eye on the region’s central banks for signs as to when interest rates will rise this year – something that could weigh on equity returns and devalue the portfolios of bondholders. Changes in rates…
Fair-value freeze in Japan
Corporates and financial institutions have long awaited the introduction of the internationally accepted fair-value option to hedge accounting in Japan. They believe a fair-value option would allow more institutions to hedge their risks, particularly in…
Lighting up dark pools
The Singapore Exchange’s planned launch of Asia’s first exchange-backed dark pool may indicate the region’s dominant exchanges are ready to take on brokers providing internal crossing systems for anonymous block trades. At the same time, it offers dark…
Interview with Vladimir Piterbarg
Vladimir Piterbarg talks about his new article published in the Cutting Edge section of Risk magazine
Counterparty charge an act too far?
The Basel Committee shocked many bankers in December by unleashing proposals to significantly increase capital requirements for counterparty risk exposures. But industry participants argue the measures overlap with each other and could hike up capital to…
Unrealised gains out of their hands
Some regulators have suggested profits based on uncertain valuations of complex products should not be allowed to flow into earnings and be distributed in the form of dividends and bonuses – a move that potentially has massive implications for the…
Copenhagen or bust
Carbon trading volumes boomed in 2009, but price declines meant the total value of trades was down modestly. Following the disappointing Copenhagen summit, what hope is there for new life in the carbon markets? Peter Madigan reports