Foreign exchange
BNP Paribas begins issuing synthetic CDOs in Asia
French bank BNP Paribas plans to start issuing arbitrage synthetic collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) for the first time in Asia, ex-Japan, according to a Hong Kong-based official.
Swiss Re strikes $150 million contingent capital deal
Swiss Re, the Zurich-based reinsurer, has closed a $150 million contingent capital deal with MBIA, the world’s largest financial guarantor, based in Armonk, New York. The deal closed on December 27, but its details have been closely guarded until now.
Risk Awards dinner raises $160,000 for WTC appeal fund
Risk magazine’s Awards dinner raised more than $160,000, according to the initial count, for Risk magazine’s World Trade Center appeal fund. The dinner, held last night in the Regent Hotel, Wall Street, featured the presentation of the annual Risk Awards…
Regulation | On the road to Basel III
UK regulators want to harmonise regulation of the financial services sector – and they have insurance companies in their sights.
Legislation | Enron-related regulatory issues hit derivatives industry
Enron’s collapse has sparked calls for more derivatives regulation and stricter accounting standards in the US. What proposals should the derivatives industry be concerned about? Polyn
Solving the pensions puzzle
A host of market and structural problems are plaguing US corporate pension plans. Derivatives dealers are pitching a number of potential solutions.
Pinched budgets strain IT decisions
The September 11 attacks and continuing economic downturn have severely affected the global banking industry. Now banks’ IT departments must increasingly justify their build-or-buy decisions in terms of value for money, speed and increased functionality.
Job moves
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: - “Few regulators really understand derivatives... That’s not their fault, many of us don’t either” A London forex trader commenting on AIB’s $750 million loss. Source: The Mirror, February 7
UBS Warburg snares Merrill equity risk structurers
UBS Warburg has snared Min Park and Chang Sik Cin from Merrill Lynch to boost its equity derivatives risk services offered to institutional investors, corporate clients, and high-net-worth individuals.
Derivatives not to blame for Enron failure, says Greenspan
Alan Greenspan, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, yesterday defended the role of derivatives in financial markets during a testimony to Congress. "The record of [derivatives] performance, especially over the past couple of stressful years, suggests…
Defaults hit new record levels, says Moody’s
International rating agency Moody’s said that credit losses due to defaults reached record levels in 2001, as loss rates on speculative-grade defaulted bonds surged and recovery rates on the defaulted bonds plummeted for the third straight year.
MMC Enterprise Risk sets up weather desk for corporates
Marsh & McLennan (MMC) Enterprise Risk, a sister company of New York-based insurance broker Marsh, is in the process of establishing a weather derivatives desk aimed at enticing corporate end-users into hedging against revenue-threatening weather…
AIB currency losses bring forex training into spotlight
Many banks are putting more emphasis on training foreign exchange dealers to minimise risk following Allied Irish Banks' loss of $691 million, stemming from an alleged currency fraud at subsidiary Allfirst in Baltimore.