Foreign exchange
Green light for securities firms
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Cleaning up the system
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A storm over CMT
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Icap sees 30% profits increase
Inter-dealer broker Icap has increased its interim pre-tax profits by 30% to £58.2 million, thanks to longer-term interest rate and credit volatility, the company reported.
More insurers to outsource says Swiss Re
Insurance companies are increasingly turning to outsourcing of their asset management operations to manage risks and improve returns, according to Swiss Re.
Merrill Lynch in drive to promote active currency risk management
Any investor with international dealings should examine their currency exposure in a systematic way and treat foreign exchange as an asset class, according to securities house Merrill Lynch.
Fed to explore operational risks in clearance of US government securities
The US Federal Reserve Board has established a private sector working group to recommend steps to mitigate operational risks in the clearance and settlement of US government securities.
Attractive investment opportunities lie in managed synthetic CDOs, says Goldman
Managed synthetic collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) currently present an attractive long-term opportunity for investors, Goldman Sachs said in a new report this week. The CDOs, composed of credit default swaps on corporate credit, take advantage of…
Greenwich Associates finds increase in interest rate derivatives use among European investors
A survey by Greenwich Associates, a financial industry consulting and research firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut, found significant jumps in interest rate derivatives investing and trading levels and smaller gains in credit derivatives usage among…
Deutsche's hedge fund business and Plusfunds to distribute S&P Hedge Fund Index products
DB Absolute Return Strategies (DB ARS), the global hedge fund management business of Deutsche Bank, and PlusFunds, a New York-based service platform for hedge funds, have signed an agreement for the distribution of S&P Hedge Fund Index-based products…
Philips’ risk manager highlights VAR’s inadequacy
Value-at-risk can be an inadequate and inappropriate measure of risk for corporates, said Mark Kirkland, Amsterdam-based global head of financial risk services at Philips Electronics.
Cross-products find their feet
Cross-product trading is no longer just a "mantra" chanted by sell-side bankers, said Matt Desselberger, managing director, corporate structured products group at Deutsche Bank in London.
Potential for instability over-hyped, says Ferguson
The potential for the new risk management instruments and techniques to produce instability has been overestimated, Federal Reserve vice-chairman Roger Ferguson told delegates at a conference in New York, sponsored by the American Institute of Certified…
Multi-bank FX platforms double market share in last six months
Online multi-bank foreign exchange trading platforms have doubled their market share in the last six months, according to Justyn Trenner, chief executive officer of London-based research and analysis company ClientKnowledge.
Fitch predicts more gloom for US energy companies
US power and gas companies face another grim year in 2003 as liquidity risk, market weakness and litigation and regulatory concerns seem set to continue, according to a new report by rating agency Fitch.
Risk managers set to benefit from drive to address FX operational risks
Foreign exchange risk managers are waking up to new ways of addressing operational risk in the FX markets, Paul Fisher, head of the foreign exchange division at the Bank of England, told delegates at FX Week 's first congress in London this morning. As a…
Financial institutions ill equipped to deal with credit risk developments, says D’Silva
The changing attitudes to credit risk among banks amounts to a "cultural revolution", Adrian D'Silva, director of capital markets supervision for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, told delegates at a credit risk management conference in Vienna today…
UBS shuts Houston energy trading desk
UBS is to close its Houston-based energy trading desk, laying off an undetermined number of staff. But the Swiss bank also said it will move some of Houston’s 380 energy staff to its Stamford, Connecticut, office, where energy trading will continue.
Committee of Chief Risk Officers releases best practices recommendations
The Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCROs), the Washington DC-based association for energy company risk managers, yesterday released its best practice recommendations, urging merchant energy companies to increase market transparency.
Citigroup wins FX Week strategy award
Citigroup’s FX strategy team took the top spot in FX Week's best bank in FX research and strategy award, ousting last year’s winner Deutsche Bank into second place.
Financial institutions have scope for improvement in risk management, says PwC
Leading financial institutions are moving towards a more holistic and integrated approach to risk management, but need to continue to improve their risk management processes, according to a new survey from financial services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers …