Infrastructure
City of London defends OTC derivatives markets
Political pressure for reform risks crushing the over-the-counter derivatives market, warns a report published today by the City of London.
Auctions held on credit derivatives referencing three US companies
Three credit event auctions run by data vendor Markit and broker Creditex have determined final settlement values for credit derivatives trades referencing Missouri-based cable operator Charter Communications, Pennsylvania-based financial services firm…
Fed divulges process behind bank stress tests
The US Federal Reserve has released details of the methodology behind its Supervisory Capital Assessment Programme (SCAP), the recently concluded stress tests conducted by regulators to ascertain whether additional capital replenishment is needed at the…
Isda benchmarking survey shows trade processing improving
Daily news headlines
IMF: leverage best for determining bank bailouts
Leverage ratios, return on assets and stock data are among the most reliable indicators for predicting whether banks would require government intervention in the credit crisis, according to a study published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this…
European CDS dealers to follow US to fixed coupons
An agreement between the major dealers to move to standardised fixed coupons for trading European credit default swaps (CDSs), following a similar move in North America, could speed global moves towards central clearing, say market participants.
Isda AGM: US regulator identifies six weaknesses in OTC market
Theo Lubke, senior vice-president at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, identified six main problem areas in the over-the-counter derivatives market during a panel discussion on public policy at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association's…
Isda AGM: Derivatives post-trade processing improves
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda) says post-trade processing has continued to improve over the past year, with lower numbers of confirmations outstanding and higher levels of automation.
Isda AGM: trillions in derivatives torn up since June
Multilateral tear-up efforts continue to bear fruit, with notional outstanding reduced by several trillion dollars, according to a report released by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association at its annual general meeting in Beijing.
Thomson Reuters upgrades multi-asset class transaction service
Global information company Thomson Reuters has upgraded its multi-asset class transaction service Reuters Trading for Exchanges (RTEx).
TriOptima targets swaps tear-up for mainland China and Taiwan
Swedish post-trade services group TriOptima plans to launch renminbi and new Taiwan dollar interest rate swaps (IRS) termination services in the second half of this year. The company currently offers its services across 19 currencies, including seven…
SG CIB tries to fix variance swap flaws
In the wake of hefty losses for sellers of variance swaps as volatility spiked last year, Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking (SG CIB) is touting products that might make selling variance more palatable for investors.
Ice clears $71 billion of CDSs
Atlanta-based derivatives exchange IntercontinentalExchange (Ice) has cleared $71 billion notional in credit default swaps (CDS) in the four weeks since the launch of its central clearing platform. The exchange cleared 613 transactions and reported open…
The great bond buyback
The Bank of England has kicked off its repurchase scheme for sterling high grade bonds, but opinion is divided over whether the subsequent tightening of spreads is down to the government initiative or extraneous factors. Laurence Neville reports
Volatility puts credit investors on the defensive
Investors are gravitating towards safe haven sectors such as utilities and telecoms as credit fundamentals on non-cyclicals continue to deteriorate
Sting in the tail
Credit spreads on highly rated names have blown out to levels that are proving irresistible to many buy-and-hold investors such as pension funds. But tail risk in the form of increased default expectations is still a major consideration. Blake Evans…
On the crest of a wave
Corporate bond volumes have been soaring as companies scramble to meet their funding requirements in the wake of the loan market's demise. Simon Boughey looks at whether this wave of issuance is a temporary phenomenon or whether it heralds a permanent…
Ukraine heads list of riskiest sovereign issuers
Central Asian and South American countries dominate the league table of sovereign issuers with the highest risk debt, while northern European nations - plus the US - are among the safest
Max Bublitz: The great race ... to the bottom
Predicting how long the downturn will last is a fool's game. Past cycles are no useful indicator because we are undergoing a more tectonic shift in the global economic landscape
Robert Stheeman
The head of the UK's Debt Management Office, the body responsible for administering the wave of recent government issuance, tells Sarfraz Thind that the recent failed auction doesn't spell a death of demand for gilts