Structured products
1,500 hedge funds sign up for MSCI hedge fund indices
indices allow improved comparisons of risk and performance
Going long in Russia
Market is benefiting from a relative insulation from the impact of a global double-dip recession.
EU capital rules remain on tight deadline
European Union (EU) plans for implementing the complex Basel II bank safety rules remain on a very tight schedule, and yesterday's issue of a EU progress report is a positive step, officials at European banking organisations said.
Weather Board of Trade delays launch as problems mount
Atlanta-based Weather Board of Trade (WBOT), which was set for an October launch, will now only start trading exchange-based weather derivatives in February 2003. WBOT has also lost a number of its charter members, encountered problems with its fund…
WestAM enters hedge fund market
WestAM, the €38 billion asset management arm of German bank West LB, has launched its first hedge fund, WestAM Navigator Global Fixed Absolute Return Fund.
EU capital rules remain on tight deadline
LONDON – European Union (EU) plans for implementing the complex Basel II bank safety rules remain on a very tight schedule, but the issue today of a EU progress report is a positive step, officials at European banking organisations said today.
Insurance companies turning to hedge funds, says Swiss Re
Insurance companies are increasingly turning to third-party asset managers to improve returns and manage risk, according to a new study by Swiss Re. As a result of the trend, insurers' alternative investment holdings in hedge funds are poised to grow by…
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and UBS Warburg dominate FX derivatives in FX Week awards
Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and UBS Warburg led the FX forwards and FX options categories in FX Week’s awards again this year, confirming their dominance in derivatives.
HSBC’s purchase of Household triggered credit rally, according to BoA
Bank of America (BoA) has used its new credit risk model to show, quantitatively, how HSBC’s proposed purchase of Household International, announced last Thursday, sparked a credit rally.
Aussie funds shun currency overlay
Australian superannuation funds’ use of currency overlay has declined, according to a report made public last week.
EU expected to report on Cad 3 progress next week
BRUSSELS – The European Commission is expected to give details on November 18 about how it intends applying the complex Basel II bank safety rules in the European Union, commission officials confirmed today.
S&P rates first structured product as an index
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has rated, for the first time, a structured finance transaction, Core Investment Grade Bond Trust I, as an index rather than as a collateralised debt obligation.
Japan’s SMBC expects to issue synthetic CLO in early December
Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is preparing to launch a synthetic balance-sheet collateralised loan obligation (CLO) referenced on ¥500 billion worth of loans extended to 1,500 Japanese small to medium-sized companies.
Basel II will lead to more instability, critic argues
LONDON - The Basel II bank capital accord will result in more banking instability and more pro-cyclicality, where bank actions taken in response to solvency rules reinforce economic and market cycles, a leading critic of the accord said in October.
A question of priorities
Japan's banks are aware of the need to prepare for Basel II, but it is just one of a number of urgent issues that need to be resolved in the Japanese banking sector.
Basel II will have profound effect on US banks, says regulator
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - The Basel II capital accord will have profound implications for risk management techniques and capital management in the larger US banks, a leading US banking regulator said in late October.
ING closes first arbitrage synthetic CDO
ING Financial Markets closed its first arbitrage synthetic collateralised debt obligation today. The CDO is referenced on a static portfolio of 100 credit default swaps worth $1 billion.
Loan hedgers shy away from CDS market
Despite a surge in European lending activity during the past three months, many banks have decided not to hedge their risk with credit default swaps (CDSs), according to research by Morgan Stanley.
Cost of credit protection for IntesaBci widens due to weak Q3 results
The cost of senior five-year credit protection for IntesaBci widened 12 basis points to 87bp-mid, with its subordinated debt protection widening 40bp to 190bp-mid, after it reported weaker-than-expected results yesterday.
Isda presses Congress for passage of netting provisions
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the trade association for the financial risk management industry, has teamed with other key trade bodies in pressing the United States Congress to secure favourable passage of legislation on financial…
Europe allows wider role for op risk insurance in Cad 3 [full story]
BRUSSELS - European banks and investment firms would be able to use operational risk insurance to reduce capital charges in all approaches to measuring op risk under new European Union (EU) capital adequacy rules, banking industry and regulatory sources…
Basel II op risk charge will help tackle concerns, says McDonough
NEW YORK - Banking supervisors believe that a separate capital charge for operational risk under the Basel II capital rules will bolster efforts to find better ways of addressing concern about the operational hazards faced by banks, the world's chief…
Banding together for SME credit risk analytics
Germany's banking associations are taking a leading role in getting the country's fragmented banking sector ready to comply with the Basel II capital Accord. Germany's savings banks association, in particular, says it has internal ratings-based systems…