News
eAcumen launches weather risk platform
San Francisco-based risk technology firm, eAcumen, has launched the core module of WeatherBook, a quantitative weather risk management platform that prices weather derivatives and simulated portfolios using a proprietary simulation algorithm.
ACBM moves to make convertibles less risky
The Association of Convertible Bond Management (ACBM) has drawn up a series of new recommendations to protect investors from non-standard convertible bond issue terms. The standardisation and clarification guidelines are seen as an important measure to…
Blewitt exits creditex for BofA
Former creditex chief strategic officer Dik Blewitt has been hired by Bank of America in New York as a managing director in its structured credit products group. Blewitt will structure credit products using credit derivatives for pension funds and…
The shifting sands of Basel II
Four months after the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision closed the consultation period on its January 2001 draft for a new international capital Accord, it has already made major amendments to its proposal.
Cantor names new executives
Cantor Fitzgerald has named new managers to its sister business eSpeed to replace those lost in the World Trade Center tragedy. The broker lost nearly 700 of its 1,000 staff in the tragedy, which has now claimed more than 6,000 lives.
CLS hit by yet more set-backs
CLS (Continuous Linked Settlement) Bank, a financial industry initiative established to mitigate settlement risk in the foreign exchange market, has been forced to once again delay the launch of its service. The latest estimate for the start of CLS…
Basel II regulators lighten Pillar 3 disclosure burden
Global banking regulators said they are significantly reducing the amount of information they will require from banks under a key provision of the proposed Basel II banking accord.
Basel cuts op risk charge benchmark to 12%
Global banking regulators will base their proposed capital charge for operational risk on a 12% benchmark, down from the controversial 20% originally proposed.
Ernst & Young boosts UK credit risk services
Ernst & Young, the international professional services firm, has ramped up its risk management services practice headed by Tim Pagett, by hiring ING Barings’ former global head of risk management infrastructure Robert Endersby.
German exchanges offer US equity products
Deutsche Borse and Eurex, owned by Deutsche Borse and the Swiss Exchange, have launched a tranche of new US stocks and futures to be traded in Europe. The initiative is designed to enable members to trade 10 euro-denominated stock options on US equities,…
GFInet launches new credit derivatives service
GFInet, the online interdealer broking service of GFI, has launched a Credit Default Swap Mark-to-Market (MTM) service today. The product will enable GFI, one of the largest brokers in the credit derivatives market, to make its comprehensive market price…
SGX to launch single-stock futures on October 26
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) will launch 15 single-stock futures contracts on October 26. The contracts are based on underlying blue chip stocks listed on SGX’s securities market, and include names like Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, DBS Group,…
ABI to run op risk database next year
The Italian Banks Association (ABI) will have a fully functional operational loss database supported by information from Italy's largest banks by the second half of next year.
Indian banks move to upgrade risk technology
A number of Indian banks have been upgrading their risk technology in a bid to meet Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines on prudent risk management practices issued in 1999.
Basel scraps 'w' charge from pillar 1
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has reacted to strong industry criticism of its controversial 'w' charge by scrapping it from pillar 1, regulatory capital, of its proposed new regulatory capital requirements – Basel II. It will now be included…
Attacks emphasise need for continuity planning
The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11 proved the value of business continuity plans and disaster recovery centres. Much of Wall Street has been able to conduct business with some semblance of normality, although firms like…
Largest Greek bank deploys risk technology
The National Bank of Greece (NBG), Greece’s largest financial institution, has decided to deploy Algorithmics’ Risk Watch application as an enterprise-wide risk management system in an effort to better manage credit and liquidity risks, and capital…
Nymex’s problems continue
One unexpected victim of market disruption following the events of 11 September has been the New York Mercantile Exchange's (Nymex) new Brent futures contract – a key weapon in the exchange’s battle for supremacy with London’s International Petroleum…
RBS boosts swaps team
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired Benoit Seguret as a senior interest rate swaps trader in its financial markets division.
Mark leaves CIBC to launch consultancy
Robert Mark has resigned as vice chairman and chief risk officer at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Toronto to launch a consulting firm and pursue academic interests, the bank said.
Front launches new patnership programme
Trading and risk management technology provider Front Capital Systems has launched a new project to better deploy and implement risk management software in financial institutions.
Twist publishes new FX standard and adds members
Twist (the treasury workstation integration standards team), an industry initiative set up to standardise integration between treasury and FX systems, has published the second version of its FX interface standard.
UK corporates taking more risks
UK companies are adopting a more risk-taking stance in making their business decisions, and perceive risk management as a beneficial tool to gain competitive advantage, according to a survey by professional services company Deloitte & Touche.
Insurance risk needs complete rethink, says Munich Re
The world’s largest reinsurance company, Munich Re, believes that risk management associated with the primary insurance and reinsurance sectors needs to be “completely rethought”, following the terrorist attacks in the US last week. The German reinsurer,…