Feature
EU insurers prepare for op risk under Solvency II
Editor's blog
US Wrap: Momentum accelerates towards week end
Issuance gathered pace yesterday as four providers launched a diverse spread of 18 products. Bank of America unveiled accelerated growth and kick-out structures, neither of which offered exposure to the usual S&P 500 index, but instead exposed investors…
iShares acquires Mexico’s Naftrac ETF
iShares has acquired the largest and first exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Mexico and Latin America. The Naftrac ETF follows the performance of the IPC (Indice de Precios y Cotizaciones), which is a Mexican stock market index.
CDS: Sentiment slips on poor corporate news and jobs data
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (May 14)
Newcastle Building Society structured deposit sales up 50%
Sales of structured deposits at Newcastle Building Society have surpassed its first quarter predictions by 50%. The structures were sold by Newcastle Intermediary Services, the bank's advisory arm which was launched in 2008 and allows advisors to…
Hess leaves Goldman Sachs and returns to Citi
Dirk Hess has joined Citi as a director in the EMEA retail structured products business. Hess will split his time between London and Frankfurt, and be responsible for working across the sales, marketing and new issuance teams to build out Citi's cross…
CDS: Bank levels stay flat
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (May 12)
US Wrap: ABN picks up reverse convertible pace
ABN Amro launched six new reverse convertible products into the US market yesterday, mainly focusing on energy and metals. In the latter sector, exposure to steel, copper, gold and aluminium was offered through three different notes. Alcoa, which…
US Wrap: Acceleration steps back into fashion
Accelerated growth products were back in fashion yesterday in the US new issuance market, producing eight of the 13 products released The remainder were reverse convertibles, continuing the return of the recently beleaguered structure. For underlyings,…
CDS: Wells Fargo bounces back after stress test
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (May 8 & May 11)
CDS: Narrowing excludes major European players
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Friday May 8)
US Wrap: Reverse convertible bets on derivative stock
Barclays Bank has launched a new reverse convertible linked to the stock of InterContinental Exchange, which operates online trading for over-the-counter derivative products. The note lasts six months and pays a 17.25% annualised coupon, with a stock…
Regulators continue march towards stricter rules
Editor's blog
FSA takes over Lehman structured products investigation
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced it will take sole responsibility for the investigation into Lehman Brothers-backed structured products in the UK. The decision was taken jointly between the UK regulatory body and the Financial…
US Wrap: Natixis goes heavy on metal with new note issue
Natixis launched four reverse convertible products in the US market yesterday, including notes linked to the stock of US Steel and Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. It is using the external credit of Eksportfinans to issue all the notes, rather than its own…
CDS: Pressure eases on Citigroup as narrowing continues
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Thursday May 7)
US Wrap: ABN cuts in to reverse convertible space
ABN Amro has joined the latest bout of reverse convertible issuance kicked off by Barclays earlier this week. The Dutch bank has launched five notes, one of which is a three-month product linked to the stock of Intuitive Surgical that offers a 23%…
Early day motion urges investigation into structured products
An early day motion has been tabled in the UK Parliament calling for an investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on behalf of investors who lost money after buying structured products backed by Lehman Brothers.
Barclays Wealth offers US exposure to Super Tracker investors
Barclays Wealth has launched the latest version of its FTSE tracker product, which features an S&P 500 option that gives investors accelerated participation in the US index. In a market usually limited to UK equity, investors will now be able to opt for…
US Wrap: Issuers hit the accelerator
The US structured products market saw a bumper day of issuance yesterday, including five accelerated growth products from JP Morgan and 10 reverse convertibles from Barclays Bank. In total, 22 products were launched by six providers in one of the year's…
CDS: Spreads narrow for every issuer
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Wednesday May 6)
US Wrap: May Day flurry favours US equity
Ten new products were issued at the close of the US week, all linked to US equity. Over half of the new launches were reverse convertibles, issued by JP Morgan. Walt Disney, Microsoft and General Electric all featured as reference stocks among the notes.
CDS: Europe narrows while US banks widen marginally
Credit default swap 5-year mid-levels for structured products issuers (Tuesday May 5)
Grail swoops into US ETF market with actively-managed ETF
Grail Advisers has listed its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Arca platform of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF is an actively-managed fund which uses multi-managers to achieve its return, like a…