Structured products
Meteor banks on property market recovery
Meteor has launched a second kick-out plan banking on rises in the European commercial property market. It is linked to the performance of the FTSE European Public Real Estate Association Europe Index, which offers exposure to the publicly traded real…
Joint Associations Committee releases principles for retail structured products distribution
The five trade associations which have formed the Joint Associations Committee (Jac) published the final version of Distributor-Investor non-binding principles on July 9, following the completion of a consultation on a draft released in the middle of May…
Second review on Athilon rating
Moody's yesterday placed the AAA counterparty rating of credit derivatives product company (CDPC) Athilon Capital on watch for downgrade.
SEC hits out at agencies over RMBS
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday published a report detailing the results of its investigation on the three main credit rating agencies' practices in rating products that reference residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).
Quant Congress: Models not to blame for stat arb crisis
Quantitative investment models were not responsible for the ructions in the statistical arbitrage sector in August 2007 and would, in fact, have proved extremely profitable should funds have weathered the storm, delegates at Quant Congress USA heard…
T Boone launches wind power plan
Texas oilman T Boone Pickens has launched a plan to address the United States’ dependence on foreign oil by aiming to generate at least 20% of the nation’s energy supply through wind power.
Q&A: Regulator calls for greater insurance against liquidity risk
Arthur Angulo, senior vice-president of banking supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and co-chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s Working Group on Liquidity, talks to Risk about recent initiatives to improve liquidity risk…
US mortgage lender closes doors after capital warning
Indymac Bancorp, one of the largest mortgage providers in the US, closed its doors to new business and announced deep job cuts yesterday, blaming the continuing crisis in the mortgage-backed securities market.
Quant Congress: Gaussian copula "failing dramatically" in pricing CDOs
Gaussian copula distribution models are an overly simplistic and inadequate means of valuing tranches of collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) and other structured products, warned a senior quant yesterday.
SEC streamlines rules for self-regulation
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New lobby group to defend securitisation markets
As pressure for reform in the securitisation market grows, three regional industry lobbying groups - the American Securitisation Forum (ASF), the European Securitisation Forum (ESF) and the Securities Industry and Futures Markets Association (Sifma) -…
Barclays unveils Guaranteed Deposit Accounts in Offshore Bonds range
Barclays Capital has launched two products as the latest offering in its Structured Deposit Series for Offshore Bonds range. The five-year World Equity Deposit Account offers protected exposure to a basket of four equally-weighted indexes, comprising the…
ABS new issuance increases 158%
Asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance for the second quarter has increased 158% compared with the first quarter, according to London-based data provider Xtrakter.
More writedowns coming at UBS
UBS will report more writedowns in its second-quarter results, due on August 12, the Swiss bank warned today.
Basel committee outlines reforms for rating agencies
The Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS) – a group affiliated with the Bank for International Settlements that monitors developments in financial markets for the G10 countries – released on July 4 its findings on failures in structured finance…
Barclays Wealth enhances rates on investment range
Barclays Wealth is launching a range of capital protected investments with improved terms on growth and income products, which are designed to maximise returns in volatile markets. The Protected FTSE Plan offers 1.5 times the rise in the FTSE 100 index…
TriOptima prepares to face Isda-backed rival
The new credit derivatives tear-up service announced by Isda yesterday will use a more flexible method of simplifying credit portfolios - but established provider TriOptima in Stockholm disputes it will be any better than its own service.
Cheyne auction reflects harsh reality for SIVs
An expected restructuring of the assets of defunct structured investment vehicle (SIV) Cheyne Finance later this month underlines the harsh reality faced by many investors in the vehicles, who are likely to get little or none of their money back.
European paper issued on improving securitisation transparency
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HSBC goes global on agriculture
HSBC Global Banking and Markets has launched the HSBC Optimised Global Agriculture index, which is designed to provide exposure to companies involved in businesses related to the cultivation of crops and plants. The index will be used as a basis for…