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Comment
Prime broker shortcomings contribute to hedge fund risk
Hedge Funds are incurring extra operational risk as a result of inadequate prime brokerage services, according to TCA Consulting.
European short-dated rates volatility lows continue
The surge in long-dated interest rate volatility has cast its shadow over the European swaption market during the last nine months, but now at the other end, short-dated volatility has fallen.
Insurance industry moving too slowly on op risk
Insurance companies are failing to move quickly enough to offer operational risk regulatory capital charge protection coverage, according to Philip Martin, director of HSBC’s operational risk consultancy. Speaking at Risk magazine’s OpRisk Europe 2002…
Rallying cry for Italy
Italian banks are racing to catch up with their largest US and European competitors in risk modelling. Inspired by Mauro Maccarinelli, IntesaBci is leading the pack.
ABN’s Mulder calls for faster op risk implementation
Bankers were urged to accelerate implementation of operational risk management practices to better serve their institutions ahead of Basel II by Herman Mulder, senior executive vice-president for group risk management at Dutch bank ABN Amro, during a…
CreditTrade strikes deal with Digital Island
CreditTrade, a credit derivatives dealing platform, plans to offer Web services that it says should cut implementation and facilities costs by 30%, while accommodating up to 5,000 transactions per day.
Renewed FX interest by funds offers prime brokerage fillip
The return of funds to trading forex has prompted a boom in the provision of prime brokerage services. Banks such as Bank of America are hiring more staff to cope with the increased demand, while others, like UBS Warburg, are building online prime…
Experts call for constant review of corporate risk practices
Risk management practices and financial reporting have been high on the corporate governance agenda since the September 11 terrorist attacks and the spate of business failures during the past year, according to speakers at a corporate governance seminar…
OpVantage and Raft integrate products
Operational risk software and data vendors Raft International and OpVantage plan to integrate Raft Radar and OpVar, their respective op risk applications, in a collaboration that will see the global delivery of joint products and services to financial…
Platts launches US coal derivatives index
Platts, the energy information business and part of McGraw-Hill, has launched a series of coal derivatives indexes in the US to help market participants to price contracts in this developing area of the energy markets.
Isda, FpML.org unveil trial recommendation for FpML 2.0
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association and FpML.org, scheduled to merge at the end of January, have published a trial recommendation for financial products markup language (FpML) Version 2.0.
Synthetics up on back of credit derivatives growth
Increased familiarity with credit derivatives is leading to a greater appetite for synthetic securitisation, according to the two main ratings agencies, Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's.
Normandy trims hedging book as Newmont closes in
Australia’s largest gold company, Normandy Mining - the subject of a bidding war by two of the world’s largest gold producers, AngloGold and Newmont Mining – has unwound a large part of its forward hedging book, catching some dealers by surprise.
Insurers call for greater underwriting discipline
Many insurance and reinsurance companies face ruin unless there is a fundamental shift towards correlating risk management with underwriting premiums, according to a panel of insurance industry chief executives at the Property/Casualty Joint Industry…
Enron exposure hurts JP Morgan credit position
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has placed JP Morgan Chase on negative ratings outlook following the financial institution’s unveiling of a $322 million loss in fourth-quarter 2001, in part caused by its exposure to failed US energy company Enron.
Traders confused over mixed signals on yen policy
Traders are having problems second-guessing the Japanese government’s policy on the yen, after the currency's firming to ¥132.38 against the dollar yesterday. This followed the yen hitting a three-year low of ¥133.70 the day before.
US swap spread narrowing set to continue
US swap spreads narrowed during the year’s first week of trading. But despite anticipation that the Fed will soon discontinue cutting interest rates, spreads will continue to be tight over the next few months, according to economic research from JP…
Swiss Re signs up Longitude in weather push
Swiss Re signed up with New York-based risk management software firm Longitude today, to help its development of new weather risk management products.
Innovative CDOs set to lead the way in 2002
Innovatively structured collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) will spur the growth of structured finance products in 2002, according to a report by rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P).
RBS launches new sterling-denominated CDO
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has become the next in a line of major European banks to launch a collateralised debt obligation (CDO) consisting entirely of leveraged loans in the European market. The new fund, named Cairngorm, has a high proportion of…
More derivatives deals use collateral, says Isda survey
Derivatives dealers are increasingly relying on collateral to mitigate credit risk, according to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda). The amount of collateral in circulation in the derivatives markets now exceeds $250 billion, an…