Foreign exchange
Cross-border conundrums
Credit Risk
Icap thrives on market volatility
Icap, the largest inter-dealer broker of over-the-counter derivatives, has reported a 39% rise in profits to £123.7 million for the year ended March 31. The firm’s turnover rose 26% to £664.3 million as the firm thrived on market volatility, especially…
Fed’s Ferguson says Basel II will apply to 20 US banks
The number of US banks expected to implement Basel II is now likely to be twice the number unveiled to a stunned international banking community during Congressional testimony in February, Roger Ferguson, vice-chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has told…
Carr Futures to close London FX
Carr Futures, Chicago-based institutional brokerage firm and part of Credit Agricole Indosuez, is closing its London foreign exchange desk on June 1 to form one 24-hour desk in New York, Risk's sister publication FX Week reports.
Reuters FX under threat
Reuters is fighting back to secure its position in FX, following the announcement of an alliance between two rivals, reports Risk's sister publication FX Week .
The headaches of op risk integration
The banking industry, spurred by Basel II, is acquiring systems to cope with the host of disparate issues that fall under the rubric of 'operational risk'. But how do you stitch these piecemeal solutions together?
Industry moves to appease investor credit conflicts of interest concerns
A group of leading trade associations today released a draft of “principles and recommendations” regarding the correct set-up of Chinese Walls within the credit divisions of US financial institutions. The move follows criticism from investors – notably…
Bank risk disclosure improving, says Basel Committee
A new report from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision says that, overall, banks are improving their disclosure of credit, market, operational and other risks in their annual reports.
Radwan working paper released
Alexander Radwan, a member of the European parliament (MEP) for Germany, released another draft of his working paper on the European Commission's capital adequacy directive (CAD) on May 20.
CFTC moves to force Platts to divulge trade data documents
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed an application to enforce compliance with two document subpoenas issued to global publisher McGraw-Hill Companies, as part of its ongoing investigation of corrupt energy trading practices. The…
Instinctive hedgers
Strict foreign exchange restrictions have made South Africa's institutional and high-net-worth investors avid users of hedge fund products
the great challenge
New proposals and regulatory reviews will have an unprecedented impact on the European hedge fund industry, but is it all doom and gloom?
France set to allow onshore single-strategy funds soon
FRENch liberalisation likely after two years' consultation
UBS signs up to Mark-it credit pricing service
UBS Warburg has become the latest bank to feed credit price information into UK-based Mark-it Partners' credit database. In return, it will receive quorum price information for cash and derivatives credit instruments based on information provided by a…
SunGard to help Irish companies comply with Basel II
SunGard Trading and Risk Systems, an operating group of US technology company SunGard, has teamed up with Dublin–based software services consulting company Client Solutions to help banks and non-financial institutions across Ireland meet regulatory and…
US Congress tries to tame Basel II
Members of the US House of Representatives have proposed a bill that would place Congress firmly in control of the nation's Basel II debate.
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.
Ferguson named chairman of FSF
Roger Ferguson, vice-chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, was named chairman of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) today.
Japan’s Resona asks for government bailout
Resona Holdings, Japan’s fifth largest banking group created by the merger of Asahi and Daiwa, has asked the Japanese government for an emergency injection of public funds, following a sharp plunge in its capital reserves. The government bailout,…
Compliance systems are key to reputational risk, says Sullivan & Cromwell's Cohen
Regulators look to the strength of a firm's compliance system when deciding how aggressively to pursue it for rule violations, according to Rodgin Cohen, chairman of law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.
Raroc pioneer now questions use of risk analytics
Dan Borge, who developed the first widely used enterprise-wide risk management system, risk-adjusted return on capital (or Raroc) while head of global research and corporate strategy at Bankers Trust in the 1970s and 1980s, now questions whether…
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.
CRO role vital for restoring confidence to energy sector, says Kaminski
Chief risk officers (CROs) have a vital role in helping to shape the future of the troubled energy sector, and should report directly to the board of energy companies if investor confidence is to be rebuilt in the sector, Vincent Kaminski, senior vice…
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.