Foreign exchange
Learning from Esops’ fables
Corporate Risk
Basel II realities kick in for emerging markets
The emerging markets might find compliance with the new Basel Accord a struggle, but ambitions are high. And the pressure is on for regulators to be seen to be adopting Basel II within the international community.
Age of reason or age of procedure?
The risk management industry's increasing use of sophisticated models and technology – when coupled with poor modelling choices – can cause problems. Stephen Blyth calls for a return to to judgement and reasoning, and a halt to proceduralism.
Credit derivatives professionals slam IAS
Financial market participants have slammed International Accounting Standard 39 (IAS 39) for financial hedge instruments, according to a British Bankers' Association (BBA) credit derivatives survey.
Wharton launches first fund of hedge funds
London-based Wharton Asset Management, which has $4 billion of assets under management, has introduced its debut fund of hedge funds.
Basel II praised for ERM framework
The new Basel Accord (Basel II) provides the most comprehensive enterprise-wide risk management (ERM) framework for banks because it provides for operational risk management that goes far beyond compliance, says Virginia Garcia, senior analyst at…
Credit derivatives professionals slam IAS
Financial market participants have slammed International Accounting Standard 39 (IAS 39) for financial hedge instruments, according to a British Bankers’ Association (BBA) credit derivatives survey.
The misdirected directive?
Germany's financial regulator, BaFin, tried to steal a march on its European rivals by implementing a new directive that should open the door to asset managers investing in new products and using over-the-counter derivatives. But did it get it wrong?
Basel II simplifies management of credit portfolios, says BIS
Basel II will facilitate early detection of the quality of a credit portfolio because it allows for progressive estimation of the probability of default (PD) of borrowers, according to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
Fitch launches First database upgrade
Fitch Risk launched Version 2.0 of the Financial Institutions Risk Scenario Trends (First) database in August, according to Penny Cagan, the senior vice-president for research at Fitch Risk, and manager of the First database.
Basel II simplifies management of credit portfolios, says BIS
Basel II will facilitate early detection of the quality of a credit portfolio because it allows for progressive estimation of the probability of default (PD) of borrowers, according to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
Sponsor's article > Op risk and Black Swans
Scarce data is a well-recognised problem for the assessment of operational risk. In such circumstances, David Rowe argues, it is necessary to blend professional judgement with the available data. In doing so, however, it is crucial to counter some well…
Increasing returns through managing risk at source
The world's largest pension fund, Calpers, has adopted an aggressive approach to corporate governance. Can this policy decrease risk and increase returns in its equity portfolio? Rachel Wolcott speaks to Christy Wood, who runs the fund's corporate…
Icap launches repo benchmark index
Icap, the London based inter-dealer brokerage, has launched a range of indexes for the repo market.
Williams to retain energy trading business
Oklahoma-based energy company Williams said it will continue operating its energy trading business, having failed to sell the rest of its wholesale power division.
Will it come out in the wash?
Special focus financial crime
FSA officially scraps op risk systems and controls
The UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) has officially announced that it is putting the implementation of 'SYSC 3A - Operational Risk', part of the 'Prudential Sourcebook', on ice.
Williams to retain energy trading business
Oklahoma-based energy company Williams said late last week it will continue operating its energy trading business, having failed to sell the rest of the wholesale power division. The company is focusing on long-term supply contracts and doing only a very…
Basel II simplifies management of credit portfolios, says BIS
Basel II will facilitate early detection of the quality of a credit portfolio because it allows for progressive estimation of the probability of default (PD) of borrowers, according to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
Calyon to outsource liquidity
Calyon is in discussions with other un-named banks to outsource currency trading to them, reports RiskNews' sister publication FX Week .
Energy users to join Italian power exchange by 2005
Energy consumers are now expected to start trading on the Italian wholesale power exchange by the start of 2005, said Paolo Ghislandi, secretary-general of Aiget, the Milan-based Italian association of energy traders and suppliers.
NZ regulator warns over Basel II
New Zealand's top banking regulator advocated the implementation of a strong corporate governance framework by host regulators under Basel II in a mid-August speech. New Zealand's foreign-owned banking system is considered to be a model host regulator.
Smothered by red tape
In response to a string of dubious structured finance transactions (remember Enron?), the ever-watchful regulators have proposed a set of guidelines which observers fear could choke the market.
SEC fund reforms may cost investors
Efforts by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and legislators to reform mutual fund practices following late trading and market-timing scandals in the US last year may ultimately impair performance and cost investors more in fees and charges.