Feature
Best in Australia - Citi
The market in Australia has received some shelter from the past year's financial crisis because fewer Lehman Brothers-backed products were distributed there than was the case elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. That aside, there has been no respite…
ETF provider - Lyxor
While the early days of exchange-traded fund (ETF) provision mean that it is hard to differentiate between the offerings of the main providers, Lyxor, the ETF subsidiary of French bank Société Générale, stands out for the difference it has made to the…
Technology innovation - Numerix
The collapse of Lehman Brothers last year sent shock waves through the financial markets, pushing financial institutions and regulators to demand better transparency, valuation methods and risk metrics. Technology vendor Numerix was quick to react to…
Index innovation - Standard & Poor's
The strategic markets approach has served Standard & Poor's (S&P) well over the past 12 months, specifically the index provider's Risk Control Indexes, Currency Beta Series, Asian Thematic Indexes and S&P 10 and S&P 40 indexes
Equity derivatives house - UBS
The past 12 months have been unfeasibly tough for UBS, as they have for nearly all financial institutions in Asia. But the bank has distinguished itself during this period by constantly striving to improve client service, no matter how hostile the…
Best in Taiwan - Standard Chartered Bank
If all regions in Asia have suffered as a result of the Lehman Brothers collapse, then Taiwan, where sales have almost ground to a halt more than once over the past 12 months, might well be the toughest place in which to resurrect the retail industry. On…
Best in Malaysia - CIMB
CIMB has won the Structured Products Malaysia house of the year award for three years in a row, and, despite stiff competition from some big international players this year, it beat all comers with a set of innovative products that were hugely popular.
Best in Japan - HSBC
HSBC entered the Japanese structured products business as recently as 2008, but its range of top-drawer products has succeeded in capturing a significant chunk of the market despite the financial crisis and the damage caused by some banks mis-selling…
House of the year - Société Générale
In a year when staff levels came under siege, Société Générale (SG) maintained headcount and suffered no major exodus of talent.
Battling the benchmark
In 2007, investors demanded more active commodity indexes to capitalise on the bull run in the asset class. But benchmarks and beta offerings alike were hit by last year's drawdown. Will this lead investors to abandon directional offerings in favour of…
Environmental exploitation
Recessions usually spell bad news for the environment. Promises of investment in clean energy and sustainable technology wither away as mediocre returns drive investors to count the cost of easing their conscience. But today's burgeoning green sector…
Seeking simplicity
Almost a year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, German retail investors are again becoming comfortable with products from US investment banks. This means that domestic players will need to fight hard to retain their increased market share as the…
Winning strategies
The new breed of systematic structured products offers investors a third way between long-only managers and hedge funds. As well as providing strategies similar to hedge funds, but with better transparency, liquidity and lower costs, the products could…
Traitors in our midst
As staff turnover rises and the pressure to perform increases, firms face the very real risk of good (or not so good) employees going bad. David Benyon looks at what firms can do to deter wrongdoing and protect their less tangible assets
Unlocking information
Throughout the crisis, banks have been criticised for failing to provide the quantity and quality of information needed for investors to gauge their financial health. But that trend could be reversed, with the Basel Committee zeroing in on disclosure as…
Murky business
A growing number of observers claim activity by some high-frequency trading firms amounts to little more than manipulation. Some people are throwing around words like 'criminals', 'indictments' and 'theft'. Is there any evidence of wrongdoing? Duncan…
Commodity crackdown
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has held hearings to determine whether it should set absolute position limits for energy and commodity market participants. How would CFTC-mandated position limits affect institutional investors, exchange…
Flying low
Extreme volatility in oil markets has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses on airline fuel hedges. At the same time, burgeoning margin calls have forced some to get creative with collateral agreements. How is the airline industry adapting? By…
Ahead of the herd
The UK Financial Services Authority will finalise its new liquidity requirements by the end of the year, but certain aspects of the proposals remain highly contentious, and the regulator has been criticised for rushing ahead of the Basel Committee, which…
Pensions puzzle
Senior politicians in Brussels are calling for Solvency II to be extended to incorporate occupational pension schemes. But actuaries and other solvency experts say this would be a disaster for plan sponsors and members. John Ferry reports
Rethinking and revaluing
Many US insurance companies have reported massive losses on the hedging of variable annuity products. European variable annuity providers, however, have faced problems of their own. Matt Cameron reports
Buy-side battle
Central clearing has dominated the agenda of credit derivatives dealers this year. With regulators pushing for buy-side firms to have access to clearing platforms, dealers and clearing houses are finding there is a great deal of work still to be done…
A tangled web
One year on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, administrators are still trawling through the complex web of special-purpose vehicles launched by the broker-dealer. A number of lawsuits have resulted - and the rulings could see US and UK courts at…
Opening cards
Unprecedented losses on credit card loans are haunting banks and could cause pain for investors in credit card asset-backed securities (ABSs). But despite this, dealers say government support has rehabilitated the market for credit card ABSs. Mark…