Structured products
Get your house in order
On Thursday August 14 this year, the lights went out across the northeast US and the Canadian province of Ontario, in the worst ever power failure in North American history.
State St to launch FX fund in fourth quarter
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of State Street, is set to launch a currency fund in the fourth quarter as part of its newly created hedge fund strategies group, a senior official at the firm told RiskNews’ sister…
Risk transparency without position transparency
When high-profile blow-ups hit the headlines, calls for greater transparency come to the fore. By Peter Davies, vice-chairman, RiskMetrics Group
US bulge-bracket firms get serious about compliance
US bulge-bracket firms are starting to address a number of complex compliance and ethical business issues in the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 by investing in technology to monitor their employees' conduct.
Escoffier outlines SG’s UK expansion plans
David Escoffier, French investment bank SG’s newly appointed head of equity derivatives for the UK and northern Europe, has outlined his plans for the bank’s British expansion, including selling more structured products.
Signs are good for IAS 39 final preparations
IAS 39 is still being finalised, but bank asset and liability managers are already putting in place systems and procedures to make sure their businesses come up to scratch. John Ferry reports
The dilemmas of risk disclosure
Barry Schachter discovers that the path towards a workable structure for hedge fund quantitative risk disclosure is very narrow. Bad news for the post-LTCM lobbyists
Emerging markets raise concerns at World Bank meeting
The discretion to introduce more flexibility in calculating certainoperational risks under the alternative standard approach (ASA) wascautiously welcomed by developing country representatives present at theWorld Bank/International Monetary Fund’s seminar…
JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley launch Trac-x Australia
JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley launched the Trac-x Australia index today, the latest addition to the Trac-x global suite of credit default swap indexes created by both firms.
Measuring operational risk: a reality check
In the second of two articles on operational risk, Mark Holmes looks at the measurement issues involved, taking a constructively critical look at the ideas currently in vogue.
UK banks failing SMEs on hedging
More than half of UK businesses with exposure to currency transactions totalling £20 million per year are failing to hedge their exposure, according to research produced by currency services firm Travelex in the UK. The lack of protection is due to a…
State Street launches dedicated hedge fund group
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of institutional fund manager State Street Corporation, has created a dedicated group for its hedge fund services, in a bid to cash in on increasing market demand for alternative…
Sponsor's article > Basel backlash: the summer of discontent
Regulators in the United States have been voicing their concerns about Basel II for some time. But now banks elsewhere are also opposing some of the proposals.
DoJ forces Merrill to disclose future structured product deals
In a deal struck with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) over charges of conspiracy with Enron, Merrill Lynch has agreed sweeping reforms that will require all complex structured finance transactions effected by a third party with the bank to be…
Sponsor's article > Reason for hope
One disappointing aspect of the Basel II deliberations has been the lack of any proposed change in the treatment of counterparty credit exposures. David Rowe argues that recent dialogue between the Basel Committee and industry representatives offers hope…
The global standard
In this article on anti-money laundering, Dominic Nixon and Rohan Bedi of PricewaterhouseCoopers analyse the final changes to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40 recommendations.
China opts out of Basel II
China's banking regulator, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), has opted out of Basel II, declaring that the country's financial institutions won't be ready to adopt the new Accord by the end-2006 deadline.
Data vendors hold key to Measurisk survival
Measurisk, a US-based risk technology provider to buy-side community, is scrambling to secure cheaper new contracts from its data vendors in a last-ditch effort to remain a viable business concern. If it can’t convince these vendors to lower their prices…
BoNY expands hedge fund services in Dublin
The Bank of New York (BoNY) is expanding its European hedge fund services with the hire of Ian Headon as group manager for alternative investment services in Dublin.
SG expands range of UK currency warrants
SG, the investment banking arm of French bank Société Générale, has launched warrants on the US dollar/yen and euro/US dollar currencies on the London Stock Exchange’s warrants market. SG said it also plans to launch warrants on the Japanese Nikkei 225…
Creating an op risk loss-collection framework
To meet the Basel II advanced measurement requirements and improve op risk management, firms must establish robust loss databases. Ulrich Anders and Jürgen Platz of Dresdner Bank in Frankfurt outline such a framework.
Does size matter?
A recent study compared returns relative to hedge fund portfolio size, offering interesting insight into the performance versus size debate
Growth of hedge fund indices will separate the 'wheat from the chaff'
benchmark progression will bring institutional money to sector