Structured products
ABN Amro manoeuvres in Middle East
ABN Amro has launched the Al Mumtaz Certificate, an Islamic product which references a synthetic basket of equity indexes.
JP Morgan wins Derivatives House of the Year award
JP Morgan has won Risk magazine’s Derivatives House of the Year award. The US bank was widely praised by end-users for continuing to provide liquidity during the turmoil of the third and fourth quarters last year, showing strength across all asset…
Agencies rethink market risk rating methods
The three largest global rating agencies are reconsidering their approach to rating structures exposed to fluctuations in market value, with potentially unpalatable results for holders and arrangers of various structured credit products.
Clock ticking for troubled monolines
Monoline insurers are finding it difficult to raise capital in the face of the continuing decline in credit quality. New-York based insurers Ambac and FGIC, and SCA, headquartered in Bermuda, saw doubt cast on their ability to raise enough capital to…
Fortis distributes first ABN Amro product in Belgium and Luxembourg
Fortis Retail Bank is distributing an ABN Amro product in Belgium and Luxembourg, the first since its acquisition of the Dutch bank three months ago. The Eco-3 plus note is described as a sustainable investment by Belgium-based Fortis, and is being…
Deutsche consolidates retail structured products
Deutsche Bank has consolidated its retail structured products business into Global Markets Investment Products (GMIP), which has been designed to bring together product aligned-platforms already available to both retail and institutional investors. GMIP…
HSBC launches Guaranteed Capital Account.
HSBC Investments has launched its six-year Guaranteed Capital Account to intermediaries, offering both income and growth potential linked to the returns of the FTSE 100 index.
S&P becomes master of the inverse
S&P has launched the S&P 500 Inverse Index, which is designed to act as a short position barometer and offer the inverse performance of the S&P 500 and is the first to be launched as a part of S&Ps family of leveraged and inverse indexes.
Lehman launches enhanced returns plan 2
Lehman Brothers has launched the second version of its Enhanced Returns Plan. The plan, which is open from 16th January to 29th February, is linked to the performance of the FTSE 100 index and offers three return options within the three-year and the two…
Dow Jones and Dharma Investments launch new faith-based indexes
Dow Jones Indexes and private investment firm, Dharma Investments, have launched five Dow Jones Dharma Indexes designed to measure the performance of companies selected according to the value systems and principles of Dharmic religions, especially…
Dow Jones tightens grip in the Gulf
Dow Jones Indexes and the Omani stock exchange, Muscat Securities Market (MSM) have launched the Dow Jones MSM Index, a total market index that measures the performance of all companies listed on the MSM.
Citigroup downgraded after monumental losses
Citigroup saw its credit ratings docked today after announcing fourth-quarter losses of $9.83 billion, driven by subprime writedowns totalling $17.4 billion.
Gallego to partner at Schulte Roth & Zabel
Dominique Padilla Gallego, a partner in the tax group at Schulte Roth & Zabel who focuses on US federal income tax matters related to structured finance transactions, financial products and investment funds, has been elected a partner at the US law firm.
RBS debuts in Japanese retail market
RBS Securities Japan has made its first foray into the Japanese retail structured products market with two, new structured bonds. The launch follows approval by Japanese authorities of shelf-registration status, granted in November 2007, that allows RBS…
Maybank issues new Islamic structured deposit
Maybank in Singapore has launched its second Islamic structured deposit, Prestige Structured Deposit, which is linked to the performance of the SGAM Al Baraka commodity index.
Barclays launches its latest regular income product
Barclays has launched its latest regular income bond. The investment is a five-year plan which pays investors an annual income of 7.25%. It offers tax-free returns when packaged inside an Individual Savings Account (Isa) or Personal Equity Plan (Pep.)
BNP Paribas rejigs CLO team, bolsters CDOs
BNP Paribas is understood to be reviewing its collateralised debt obligation (CDO) activities, with a particular focus on the cash side of the business.
The drive for convertibles
Hedge funds are exploring opportunities in convertible arbitrage, a trade that appeared to have gone out of fashion permanently back in 2005. With the promise of lucrative returns having put this strategy firmly back on the map, investors now need to be…
Banks intensify SIV firefighting efforts
Banks are scrambling to revive flagging structured investment vehicles amid downgrades and souring market values. Is there a case to answer for the rating agencies?