Foreign exchange
Product Innovations offers G7D
UK-based Product Innovations has launched the Aria Global 7 Diversifier (G7D) in conjunction with the issuers Société Générale (SG) and another unamed A+ rated issuer. The 100% capital guaranteed G7D invests in seven global asset classes: global equities…
American General restates derivatives by $41.5 million
American General Finance, the Indiana-based consumer loans specialist, has become the latest US company to restate its results because of mistakes in applying accounting rules. The company announced it would adjust income upwards by $41.5 million for the…
Mardig Haladjian
With more Islamic institutions looking for ratings, the general manager of the financial institutions group at Moody's in Cyprus explains how the agency rates these names versus conventional credits
Temasek buys £2.3bn stake in Standard Chartered
Singaporean investment company Temasek Holdings has bought an 11.55% stake in Standard Chartered from the Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat estate for around £2.3 billion. The move makes it the largest single shareholder in the London-based bank.
Nasdaq announces new risk management products
Nasdaq has announced that it plans to add new risk management products to its current offering within its trading platform. These products will be designed for clearing firms, prime brokers, sponsored access providers, proprietary trading firms and…
Deutsche appoints managing director for Sharia subsidiary
Deutsche Bank has appointed Humayon Dar as managing director of its global Sharia advisory service Dar Al Istithmar (DI). Dar will be based in London and reports to the company board of directors.
UK’s FSA to probe retail access to hedge funds
The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to consult next year on widening the range of funds that can be marketed to retail investors which will include new authorised funds of hedge funds.
FSA provides overview of approach to CRD
The FSA presented an overview of the authority’s approach to the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) at its CRD implementation conference. Hector Sants, managing director of wholesale and institutional markets, highlighted the biggest developments in…
CEBS opens consultation for additional technical guidance
The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has started a public consultation on additional technical guidance for the application of the supervisory review process under the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD).
The right tool for the job
The use of derivatives and structured products in mutual funds is on the increase, especially since the liberalisation of the UK's authorised collective investment scheme and the introduction of Ucits III. But is the asset management industry equipped to…
End of the line for mass distribution?
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, which comes into force in November 2007 across the European market, could spell trouble for distributors that sell structured investments without offering advice. Amanda Lee reports
FSA publishes feedback on hedge fund risks
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published its feedback to discussion paper 05/4 Hedge Funds: A Discussion of Risk and Regulatory Engagement, which looked at the impact of hedge funds on the UK's wholesale market.
PROFILE: Fortis to expand structured products offering
Fortis Bank says it plans to expand its range of structured products in response to the growing investor appetite for exotic and hybrid investments. Under the plan, scheduled for completion in 2010, the bank will increase its current, mainly credit…
Seeking risk transfer
In response to regulatory pressures, European insurers are boosting their efforts to transfer risk to the capital markets. Increasingly, insurance firms are using securitisation as part of their capital management strategies. Rachel Wolcott looks at the…
BCBS: Compliance risk management is key to financial stability
Arnold Schilder, chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) accounting task force, has stated that compliance risk is becoming the most important risk driver to credit institutions.
Bank of India considering raising Tier II capital to meet Basel II requirements
The Bank of India (BoI) has received approval to raise hybrid Tier II capital under its medium-term notes (MTN) programme from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The BoI has not yet decided on the amount or whether it will be innovative debt or…
Isda proposes net physical settlement
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has released a draft of the net physical settlement supplement to the 2003 credit derivatives definitions, which aims to simplify the settlement of credit default swaps (CDSs) after a credit event.
More clarity offered on Mifid
The European Union has published draft implementation rules on its Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid), giving Europe's financial institutions greater clarity on how to comply with the directive. But some bankers have criticised the…
Banks get stressed
The UK's Financial Services Authority has called on banks to improve stress testing of possible disruptive events, while the Basel Committee declared last year that firms must supplement their value-at-risk models with stress tests. But some bankers…
GFH and QIB to launch investment bank in Qatar
Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH) and Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) are to launch Qatar’s first dedicated Islamic investment bank. A formal application for authorisation and a license was submitted last month to the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory…
SGAM launches ETFs on FTSEurofirst
SGAM Alternative Investments, a subsidiary of Societe Generale group, has launched two new structured exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on the FTSEurofirst 80 index.
Spectron brokers first 2012 CO 2 allowance trade
The first 2012 European CO 2 allowances (EUAs) have been traded through energy broker Spectron.
Hong Kong prepared for implementation with major financial capitals
Simon Topping, executive director of banking policy at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), has stated that Hong Kong will be ready to implement Basel II in tandem with London, Paris, Frankfurt and Tokyo. According to Topping, timely implementation…
Refco faces more woes as FX unit sale falls through
Bankrupt financial services group Refco has failed to sell its foreign exchange brokerage, and its securities broking arm has been ordered to pay $122 million compensation to a Russian customer.