Feature
Prospectus prospects
The European Union's Prospectus Directive is meant to provide a single regulatory framework for structured products across Europe. Some dealers believe it is already having a positive effect on the Italian market. Others remain cynical. By John Ferry
A pillar of solvency
Paul Sharma, head of policy for banking, insurance and securities at the UK's Financial Services Authority, talks about life at the sharp end of insurance reform. Nicholas Dunbar reports
Basel II: What If?
Investment firms are relying on scenario analysis to gauge their operational risk.
Perspectives - Phillip Straley
Phillip Straley, Partner, global financial services risk management, Ernst & Young
New Swiss rules reveal hidden capital
Statutory or book reserve capital requirements, a mainstay of continental European insurance regulation, may come under pressure as practitioners digest the results of a field test of new solvency rules conducted by Switzerland's insurance regulator.
BaFin eases clearing house restrictions
BaFin, the German regulator, has removed a requirement for financial institutions to hold capital against transactions with swaps clearing counterparties – a rule that had threatened German banks' use of SwapClear.
Preparing for the Big One
Wall Street performs the largest business continuity test since Y2K.
Coping with complexity
The demand for risk-based technology has never been higher due to changing business practices, growing regulatory burdens and burgeoning demand for cross-asset class products. But new entrants can still gain market share in niche areas.
Legal spotlight
Helen Marshall, an attorney at Bingham McCutchen in London, reveals the seven deadly sins of the Market Abuse Directive in the UK
US tackles home-host issues caused by Basel II delay
US financial regulators are working with foreign bank supervisors to minimise cross-border implementation difficulties that might arise from the country’s delayed Basel II plans.
Oracle adds Basel II functionality to its compliance platforms.
Oracle, the world’s largest software company based in Redwood Shores, California, has added the Reveleus Basel II solution to Oracle’s enterprise risk management and compliance platforms.
Clash of the regulators
As the pace of the Solvency II process to reform European insurance supervision quickens, British and French regulators have clashed over the use of market-consistent solvency requirements, to the alarm of proponents of risk-based supervision.
Perspectives - Simon Topping
Simon Topping, Executive director, banking policy, Hong Kong Monetary Authority
Australia and Singapore lead Basel II adoption
Singapore and Australia are now the leading countries in the Asia-Pacific region in the implementation of the new capital framework, Basel II, according to a report by Celent, an international financial consultancy.
Basel II to encourage smaller banks to invest in risky assets
The new Basel II capital rules will encourage smaller banks to invest in riskier assets, according Peter Plaut, a managing director in fixed income research at Bank of America in New York.
Trading Book regime needs change, says Schmidt Bies
New liquidity and credit risks in the trading book warrant the review of the Market Risk Amendment of 1996 as proposed by the Basel Committee, according to Susan Schmidt Bies, member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
A case of too many cooks?
strategy focus: funds of funds vs multi-strategy
Hedge funds dig deep in direct corporate loan market
direct loans
Copper-bottomed pot of gold
metals/softs
Finding the right profit-path
trading
Targeting the family office market
investor groups: family offices
Fantastic plastic's path to liquidity
plastic contracts
The way forward
cayman islands roundtable
The fine art of spotting and measuring hedge fund risk
academic paper