Foreign exchange
AIG forex under merger threat
AIG Trading’s foreign exchange group faces an uncertain future, as parent company Connecticut-based American Insurance Group (AIG) prepares to merge its AIG Trading and AIG Financial Products subsidiaries, sources close to the firm told RiskNews ’ sister…
Reuters and GFI strike credit derivatives data partnership
Global information company Reuters has signed an exclusive deal with New York-based inter-broker GFI to provide GFI's credit derivatives data and Fenics credit pricing tools through Reuters 3000 Xtra, Reuters Bridgestation and Reuters Trader terminals.
A new dawn
Now that the financial community has finally become comfortable with derivatives, the next challenge is to trade these instruments using STP methods. STPforum reports
A new focus on old risks
Operational risk can wreak havoc on financial institutions’ businesses, yet measurement of operational risk is not nearly as developed as that of credit or market risk. Legislation is forcing firms to face up to the problem and STP may help them on their…
Central bank reports more leverage in swaps market
The second half of 2002 saw a sharp rise in leverage in the interest rate swap market, according to the June issue of the Bank of England's Financial Stability Review.
Risk ALM USA: mortgage investors’ extension risk balloons
The combination of a concentration of mortgage assets in ever-fewer hands and a dearth of hedging tools for short-duration mortgage portfolios has dramatically increased banks’ extension risk, according to Kamal Abdullah, senior vice president – fixed…
Hedge Funds’ Double-Edged Sword
To meet investor and regulator concerns, many hedge funds must provide more transparency--while still keeping their strategies close to the vest.
Lehman and Agricultural Bank of China close synthetic CDO
Lehman Brothers International Europe, the European arm of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, has launched an arbitrage synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) referenced to a $1 billion portfolio of 120 entities that will be managed by the…
Basel II heralds a new ‘golden age’ for risk, says BofE's Jackson
Basel II is creating a new lingua franca for risk that will usher in a “golden age” of risk management, said Patricia Jackson, special adviser to the Bank of England, at Risk magazine’s Basel II Forum in London today. The debates surrounding the wording…
US to complete further quantitative impact studies, says Ferguson
To assess the impact of the Basel II regulatory proposals on US banks that will be adopting that framework, the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators are planning to conduct a series of quantitative impact studies during the implementation period,…
BNP Paribas launches Australian dollar synthetic CDO
French bank BNP Paribas has launched an Australian dollar-denominated synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) in an effort to appeal to Australia’s institutional investor base.
Sumitomo closes Japan’s first CDO backed by structured finance transactions
Tokyo-based Sumitomo Trust and Banking (STB) has closed Japan's first synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) referenced to a semi-managed portfolio of structured finance transactions. The deal was worth ¥70 billion ($591 million).
Catching the Basel 'tail wind'
Christian Jimenez, chief risk officer at Eulia, has used momentum from regulatory change to overhaul antiquated risk management policies.
Basel Agonistes
Perhaps only by comparison with the 1988 Basel capital Accord does its successor look appealing. Basel I is widely derided for institutionalising irrationality in lending and loan portfolio management.
Lehman launches more minibonds in Hong Kong
Lehman Brothers has launched retail minibonds linked to the credit of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa today, making it the fourth time the bank has launched such a product in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Corporate Governance Survey 2003, Part 1 >> Op risk disclosure: a long road ahead
Although most banks now have a separate section on operational risk in their annual reports, disclosure levels vary considerably. Here, Operational Risk's editorial staff review 15 bank annual reports to uncover reporting and management practices in 2002
Firms rise to the op risk data management challenge
NEW YORK - Like all risk management problems, operational risk relies on a sufficient supply of good quality data if analysis is to be meaningful and decision-making effective.
Banks counter IAS39 threat
Banks are developing new structuring models for corporate clients to ensure the IAS39 accounting standards do not result in a reduction of complex foreign exchange hedging activity, Risk's sister publication FXWeek reports.
Banks counter IAS39 threat
Banks are developing new structuring models for corporate clients to ensure the IAS39 accounting standards do not result in a reduction of complex foreign exchange hedging activity, Risk 's sister publication FXWeek reports.
SEB globalises options
Swedish bank SEB has globalised its foreign exchange options business in anticipation of Sweden's entry into the eurozone, reports Risk 's sister publication FX Week .
JP Morgan Chase launches buy-side risk management product
JP Morgan Chase is launching a new risk management service, MorganRisk, to enable buy-side clients to gauge market risk in their own investment portfolios using the same proprietary methodologies used by the US bank.
CP3 Comment: Why be standardised?
It seems such a short time ago that we were building a new capital Accord, which would incentivise banks to improve their risk management and encourage them to move along the spectrum of the new Accord's three stages. How rapidly things can change.
SG to be first to market with UK currency warrants
SG, the investment banking arm of Société Générale, will issue the first currency warrants in the UK next week. The move follows the release of warrants linked to oil, gold and house price moves by Goldman Sachs, SG’s biggest rival in this area.
Fannie Mae issues statement on derivatives accounting policy
US mortgage agency Fannie Mae issued a statement today highlighting its policy on derivatives accounting, in a move to distance itself from the controversy that has enveloped rival mortgage agency, Freddie Mac.