Feature
The final countdown
The Basel Committee's most recent quantitative impact study shows a wider variation in capital among participating banks than many had been expecting. But Gerhard Hofmann, Germany's representative on the Basel Committee, reckons Germany's banks are well…
Ensuring Insurance
Are existing insurance products meeting financial institutions' needs? Giuffre Associates' Sandra Giuffre finds out
Knocking down barriers
A new reinsurance directive passed by the European parliament in early June will eradicate the collateral requirements demanded by European supervisors. With a unified framework agreed for Europe, politicians are now turning their sights on the US. By…
Is Basel II a hurdle too far for US broker-dealers?
Broker-dealers in the US are having to cope with the SEC's capital requirements, while still being somewhat in the dark about the upcoming Basel II framework. By Choongo Moonga
MiFID: the race to comply
The EU's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive has been described as one of the most far-reaching overhauls of the financial industry ever. But with Basel II dominating the headlines, few firms have yet started to prepare in earnest for the 2007…
A rise in VAR
The amount of market risk taken on by the world's leading financial institutions rose sharply last year. Despite continued poor disclosure, most dealers appear well capitalised. By Christopher Jeffery, with research by Glenn Leihner-Guarin
QIS4 results show additional capital is needed, says S&P
The early results of the Fourth Quantitative Impact Study (QIS4), which show a significant reduction in Basel II regulatory capital in Germany and the US, point to the need for additional capital charges under Pillar II of the new banking framework,…
Basel Committee clarifies 'Downturn LGDs'
The Basel Committee has issued clarification relating to the quantification of loss-given-default (LGD) parameters used for Pillar 1 capital calculations, as requested by banks and national bank supervisors. The LGD Working Group, established in…
Basel Committee issues QIS5 instructions
The Basel Committee has released instructions for the fifth Quantitative Impact Study (QIS5) for Basel II, to be conducted between October and December 2005.
New op risk papers
LONDON – A raft of new technical papers on operational risk have been made available on the web over the past few months. A few of the most interesting are summarised below:
Two new consultation papers from CEBS
LONDON – The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) launched two substantial consultation papers in June – one on the supervisory review process and the second on credit rating agencies.
EU CRD approaching Parliament acceptance
BRUSSELS – The smart odds are now in favour of the EU's Capital requirements directive passing the European Parliament's vote on September 28, according to industry observers involved in negotiating the legislation.
M&As spark op risk software shuffle
LONDON AND NEW YORK – Mergers and acquisitions are hotting up again in the op risk software industry. Two acquisition announcements in June have set tongues wagging on both sides of the Atlantic about who the next targets will be, and which potential…
FSA looks into hedge fund risks
The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has opened up a debate about the hedge fund industry, with the publication in June of a comprehensive discussion paper on the sector.
Hedge fund panel advocates CRO function
The revelation of sizeable hedge fund losses in the structured credit market in May have prompted renewed calls from investors and regulators in the US and Europe for greater disclosure in the hedge fund sector.
In pole position
Technology
Group of 26 grinds to a halt
The proposals from the Group of 26 fund managers calling for improved covenants were supposed to herald a new era of protection for bondholders. But nearly two years later, the impetus for change seems to have stalled. Laurence Neville reports
Keep it simple, stupid
Do you prefer sophistication or simplicity? Neil Palmer takes a look at optimisation methods in energy modelling and asks if energy quants aren’t sometimes being a little too heavy-handed
South Africa outlines Basel II challenges
South Africa has to amend its banking regulatory framework to accommodate the requirements of the new Basel Capital Accord, Basel II, says Errol Kruger, South Africa's Registrar of Banks and general manager of the supervision department at the country's…
Audience underwrites hedge fund naïveté
The relative mystique of hedge funds is still very much intact, if the audience at Hampden Private Capital Group’s regional meeting at the Lloyds of London offices is a trustworthy barometer.
European ABS: Will it end in tiers?
As part of a special focus on asset-backed securities, we take a look at the European ABS market. After a prolonged period of spread compression, credit tiering may be making a return to the market, as Alan McNee reports
Struggling for growth
All three Canadian energy exchanges – NGX, Watt-Ex and NetThruPut – are finding it slow-going with their expansion plans. Meanwhile the rivalry between NGX and Watt-Ex is growing. Joe Marsh reports
Storage strategies
Companies are increasingly realising they can use natural gas storage to add value to their bottom line. TransCanada’s Farzan Nathoo weighs up the strategies available for optimising value through storage
SEC: What's Next?
William Donaldson's quick retirement from the chairmanship of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month brings to mind the pithy Italian proverb from the recent Papal Conclave: "After a fat Pope, a skinny pope."