Feature
France set to allow onshore single-strategy funds soon
FRENch liberalisation likely after two years' consultation
Crackdown on risk budgets: Trader sign-off on revaluing data must end, says industry body
NEW YORK - The Professional Risk Managers' International Association (Prmia) is considering issuing guidelines recommending banks separate their risk management budgets from FX and other business lines.
Celent, TowerGroup: Deep IT Cuts Proving Harmful
BOSTON - Market research firms Celent Communications and TowerGroup predict that IT spending by securities firms will decrease this year, but say user firms have slashed IT staff nearly to the point that they are harming themselves.
Hong Kong regulator cracks down on money laundering compliance
HONG KONG - Banks in the Special Administrative Region are up against a tight deadline for implementing new anti-money laundering requirements, but the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is not going to move its September cut-off date.
Basel II: a continental rift
The Basel Committee envisaged an Accord that would be applied to all the world's banks to create a 'level playing field'. But the recent fracas between the US and the EU over implementation threatens this goal.
Roundtable > Operational risk quantification: a discipline at a crossroads
Operational Risk magazine held its first European roundtable during Risk magazine's annual European congress, in Paris, on April 9.
Corporate Actions: Anxiety and Curiosity Around DTCC's New Hub
The DTCC's initiative to stake a greater claim to the corporate action space presents stiff competition or new opportunity, depending on the perspective.
Sponsor's article > Is 8% for all seasons?
Considering the potential pro-cyclical impact of Basel II and the limited effectiveness of countervailing influences, David Rowe concludes that making the 8% ratio of capital-to-risk-adjusted-assets a discretionary policy variable should be part of the…
How practical is op risk insurance?
PARIS AND NEW YORK - The decision to allow the use of insurance to offset operational risk charges, under international and European risk-based regulatory frameworks, has opened yet another proverbial can of worms for banks.
The consulting conundrum
Gone are the Y2K days, when consultancies could exploit their strong positions and bill their clients big money for questionable services. The roles have been reversed for financial services firms, and consultancies are having to back up their ‘smoke and…
Exceptional Rates of Failure
With industry exception rates so high that the word exception is hardly appropriate, some firms are taking drastic steps. Among them: demanding that partners meet minimum standards to continue getting business.
Framework developed for German banks
BONN, GERMANY - Many of Germany's banks have been somewhat slow to prepare their operational risk management framework for the new international bank capital accord, Basel II, and the prospective European Union (EU) Capital Adequacy Directive (Cad).
Japanese banks need to improve op risk management, says BOJ
TOKYO - Some Japanese financial institutions need to improve their op risk management, according to a report released in March by the Bank of Japan (BOJ).
CP3 Alert
CP3 Alert covers the most significant changes incorporated into CP3 by the Basel Committee, including alterations to the sections on securitization, operational risk, residential mortgages, credit derivatives, and the supervisory and public disclosure…
Reference Data's Dirty Little Secret
It turns out reference data standards will make it easier for customers to switch data vendors. There are growing whispers about how positively vendors will view that.
SEC Commissioner plans aggressive Sarbanes-Oxley enforcement
WASHINGTON, DC - Despite the serious difficulties financial firms are encountering as they scramble to ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, SEC commissioner Cynthia Glassman says to expect swift and rigorous enforcement of the mandate.
Congress demands ratings report from SEC after no-show at hearings
WASHINGTON, DC - The chairman of a House of Representatives subcommittee that held early April hearings titled "Rating the rating agencies: the state of transparency and competition," sent a strongly-worded letter to the chairman of the Securities and…
Power asset prices plummet
Finance
Insecurity and innovation
Introduction
Best of breed
Introduction
The final countdown
Introduction
The smirking gorilla
Interest rates are the 800-pound gorilla of the derivatives industry. Thus, while the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reported that US commercial banks had a total credit derivatives notional exposure of $635 billion in the fourth quarter of…
How to spot a VaR cheat
Traders can use weaknesses in VaR measurement to make it appear that they are not taking any risks. Brett Humphreys exposes how easily this can be done