Structured products
US-UK regulators clash over Basel II implementation
Last week, senior executives from the US Federal Reserve and the UK Financial Services Authority clashed over the differing implementation plans for the Basel Accord revisions in a pair of speeches delivered to two financial industry trade organization…
Exceptional operational risks: Three myths debunked
Are there common features among exceptional operational risks beyond their defining characteristics of rarity and severe consequences?
Moody’s sees record Japanese yen CDO issuance
International rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said today it rated a record ¥3.02 trillion ($25 billion) of collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) in the first quarter of the year. That compares to full-year volume of ¥3.14 trillion in 2002.
Derivatives disclosure calls mount
Warren Buffett's stinging critique of the derivatives business in March represents the latest call for more derivatives disclosure. But despite some notable moves in this direction, most financial institutions remain stubbornly opaque.
Evergreen reaps compliance rewards
BOSTON - Evergreen Investments, the investment management arm of Charlotte, NC-based Wachovia Bank, has completed the third phase of its implementation of the StarCompliance system for enterprise-wide compliance.
The data deluge
Instant messaging and e-mail are critical tools for traders. But the need to oversee and archive the huge volumes of data they create has become a serious operational risk issue for broker-dealers. Clive Davidson examines the ways firms are dealing with…
Profile: JP Morgan treasury services moves beyond measurement
"We've got to an environment were there are enough scorecards and metrics in place," says Angus Grandfield, head of operational risk for the treasury services division of JP Morgan Chase's Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.
Widening the net
Compliance
Buy side faces increased op risk scrutiny
NEW YORK - Buy-side firms' ability to effectively manage operational risk is attracting more scrutiny from sell-side colleagues, according to a panel held on March 26 at Risk Waters Group's OpRisk 2003 USA conference in New York.
IT infrastructure influences credit ratings, say agencies
NEW YORK - Credit rating agencies, including Standard & Poor's (S&P), Moody’s Investor Services and Fitch Ratings, are now more frequently assessing buy-side technology in terms of supporting operations and, in some instances, sources of operational risk.
Isda AGM: BOJ reiterates intention to purchase corporate ABS
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) today reiterated its intention to buy asset-backed securities from small and medium sized companies in an unprecedented move to remedy the ills of the Japanese financial system.
Debate and controversy mark Op Risk 2003 events
Delegates at the fifth annual Operational Risk and Risk magazine operational risk conferences in London and New York this March were treated to what one speaker described as a "smorgasboard" of discussions on the subject. Attendees could choose from…
Risk Europe 2003: Government debt not subject to traditional risk management requirements, says de Forges
Government debt, while affected by volatility risk in particular, nevertheless cannot be subject to the risk management approaches and constraints of other businesses, according to Sylvain de Forges, chief executive of Agency France Tresor, the French…
Berating the raters
Last year the rating agencies were slammed in certain quarters for reacting too slowly to market events; this year, there are complaints that the agencies have overcompensated by reacting too fast. So what level of responsiveness will satisfy the bond…
Standardised approach may receive op risk charge cut, says ECB official
The operational risk charge related to the Basel II 'standardised approach' may be cut in the third consultative paper (CP3) due for release next month by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, according to Panagiotis Strouzas, a senior expert in…
Standardised approach may receive op risk charge cut, says ECB official
The operational risk charge related to the Basel II ‘standardised approach’ may be cut in the third consultative paper (CP3) due for release next month by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, according to Panagiotis Strouzas, a senior expert in…
People moves
People
Wall Street’s Battle With BCP Regulation, Round Two
Under increased scrutiny, the industry has banded together to prevent what it sees as costly and constrictive business continuity regulations.
Sweating the Small Stuff
Preparing for catastrophes is only part of it. More frequently (albeit less extensively), firms are testing their readiness for water main breaks, subway strikes and power outages.
JP Morgan Chase launches Janice to track Japanese credit derivatives
JP Morgan Chase has launched a new index that will track Japanese credit default swaps. Called JPMorgan All Nippon Index of Credit, or Janice, the index is the average of the spreads on the 45 most liquid credit default swaps of Japanese companies and…
JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley team to launch new credit indexes
JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley plan to issue a raft of new 'Tracx' credit default swap indexes over the coming 12 months. The two have already launched their own versions of such products under the names Hydi and Jeci for JP Morgan Chase, and Tracers…
Book extract > Regulatory Issues on Credit Ratings
The art (and some science) of credit rating has been in place, at least in the US, for almost a century now. In the Foreword we learned that credit rating as a process has its humble beginnings in the early 1900s in conjunction with theburgeoning market…