Foreign exchange
Economic instability does not preclude banks from using IRB, finds FSI award winner
Valles’ paper on using a TTC rating system for credit risk allows developing countries to use IRB, even after a crisis.
Barcap buys stake in energy investment firm
Barclays Capital has purchased a 40 per cent stake in energy investment firm NGP Capital Management.
No merger for FPL Group and Constellation
FPL Group and Constellation Energy have terminated their plans to merge.
SG to launch tradeable CDS Index
France’s SG is planning to launch a tradeable credit derivative index, which has initially been dubbed Credindex. The product aims to make investing in credit derivatives simpler in order to appeal to segments of the market that are currently…
IMF report praises Australian preparedness for Basel II
The IMF has released its September Financial System Stability Analysis on the Australian financial sector, and commends the country’s progress on Basel II.
IIC launches iBoxx US pension liability indexes
Frankfurt-based International Index Company (IIC) has launched a suite of iBoxx US pension liability indexes, a three-index set of benchmarks designed to mimic pension liability performance.
CESR sets out work programme and consultations for Mifid
The EU securities regulators have outlined their programme to implement Mifid requirements, marking the end of the legislative phase for the directive.
Sharia forex hedges take off
The market for sharia-compliant foreign exchange hedges continues to grow, with Citigroup structuring the first cross-border sharia-compliant cross-currency profit rate swap worth $230 million.
SocGen launching tradeable CDS index
Société Générale is launching a tradeable credit derivatives index, dubbed Credindex. The new index aims to simplify the process of investing in credit derivatives, to appeal to retail clients who are underinvested in the asset class.
The correlation debate
In response to an article on asset value correlations for retail banking portfolios, published in the July issue of Risk, Ashish Dev of KeyCorp argues that the current Basel II rules are slightly too liberal for high-quality credit cards and overly…
SunGard appoints Nayak to head its Basel II business unit
A leading solutions provider for financial services has appointed a head of product development to its Basel II BancWare business unit.
The MiFID Threat
Thanks to compliance, many of the European Union’s smaller exchanges now face fresh competition.
CME, CBOT to merge
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is to merge with the Chicago Board of Trade in a move the exchanges say is “expected to transform global derivatives markets.”
Bush signs regulatory relief bill into law
The first regulatory relief bill for US banks in over a decade has been passed, although industry will push for more reforms next year.
FSA proposes a model for stress testing
Regulator’s thematic review suggests a way to embed stress testing into the risk management framework.
US regulators to assess international differences in Basel II rules for fairness
Fed chairman promises to see if US version of Basel II imposes costs that outweigh the benefits to US banks.