News
ABN Amro launches MiniSwaps contracts
ABN Amro has launched miniature versions of interest rate swaps contracts targeted at companies, fund managers and institutions that are prevented from trading derivatives for regulatory or other reasons.
HKMA to rule out AMA approach
Hong Kong's banking regulator, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), will not allow the territory's banks to use the advanced measurement approaches (AMA) for measuring operational risk when Basel II is implemented from the end of 2006.
Schachter quits Sac for BAM
Barry Schachter, a prominent name in the financial engineering industry, has left his role as head of risk management at $4 billion hedge fund Sac Capital Advisors to join rival Balyasny Asset Management (BAM).
HKMA to rule out AMA approach
Hong Kong’s banking regulator, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), will not allow the territory’s banks to use the advanced measurement approaches (AMA) for measuring operational risk when Basel II is implemented from the end of 2006.
SG appoints head of European cash CDOs
French investment bank SG, which is part of Société Générale, has appointed Teimuraz Barbakadze from Merrill Lynch as its head of European cash collateralised debt obligations (CDOs).
Tiffe ponders weather derivatives contracts
The Tokyo International Financial Futures Exchange (Tiffe) plans to list Japanese weather contracts, and is in talks with several parties over the contract details and marketing processes, a Tiffe official said.
US Treasury and IRS ponder CDSs
The US Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have responded to calls from taxpayers and industry groups concerned about the tax treatment of credit default swaps (CDSs) by issuing a notice requesting information from interested parties.
SG to launch Footsie reverse tracker warrant
SG, the investment banking arm of Société Générale, will tomorrow launch warrants on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) that track the share prices of the UK’s top 100 companies but in reverse.
CME to launch Japanese weather derivatives contracts
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will launch Tokyo and Osaka weather derivatives contracts on July 26, the first of such contracts to serve an Asian market.
Basel Committee announces "no action" on accounting issues
On Tuesday the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a press release on the potential impact on regulatory capital of the implementation of certain International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
EU Commission publishes "final" CAD text
The European Commission released its final version of the legislative text that will implement the Basel II framework within the European Union at the end of last week.
Interest rate risk principles released by Basel Committee
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision released "Principles for the management and supervision of interest rate risk" late last week.
Wolverine to be market maker for Japanese weather futures
Wolverine Trading, the Chicago-based energy trading company, will be the lead market maker for Japanese weather futures soon to be offered by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
US regulator doles out Enron fines
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has hit Enron and its former trader Hunter Shively with $35 million and $300,000 in civil fines respectively for gas price manipulation.
Spitzer to drop RBC inquiry
Eliot Spitzer, the New York State attorney general, will not pursue a formal inquiry into Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for overpayments its clients made on foreign exchange trades, RiskNews' sister publication FX Week has learned.
UK FSA writes AMA strategy anew
An official from the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) sketched in some details of the regulator's approach to the operational risk portions of Basel II implementation in that country at an operational risk conference held in early July in London.
Spitzer to drop RBC inquiry
Eliot Spitzer, the New York State attorney general, will not pursue a formal inquiry into Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for overpayments its clients made on foreign exchange trades, RiskNews' sister publication FX Week has learned.
US forex committee issues broker points rules
The Foreign Exchange Committee, a US industry association affiliated to the Federal Reserve, last week issued new guidelines on broker ‘points’ – the issue at the heart of last year’s massive Wall Street forex fraud, reports RiskNews’ sister publication…
The flight from NAB continues
The flood of departures from National Australia Bank (NAB) continued last week as three senior institutional dealers left the bank in London and New York, reports RiskNews’ sister publication FX Week .
Moody’s warns investors on digital CDS ‘moral hazard’
Moody’s Investors Service today warned investors to be wary of potential ‘moral hazard’ associated with the proliferation of digital credit default swaps (CDS).
Trading master agreement updated for UK power
The London-based Futures and Options Association (FOA) has released new standardised power trading documentation for the UK.
Freddie Mac names new fixed-income investment head
Freddie Mac has hired Patricia Cook to head its fixed-income investments. Cook, who will report to Richard Syron, Freddie Mac’s chairman and chief executive, joins from JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management, where she was chief investment officer for global…
SEC’s hedge fund registration proposal draws fire at Senate
Senator Richard Shelby, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has said he remains concerned about proposals by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate hedge funds.
BNP Paribas makes structured rates hire
BNP Paribas has hired Kara Lemont Sportelli for its fixed-income derivatives structuring group. Lemont Sportelli will focus on engineering exotic interest rate and hybrid derivatives products for investors and liability managers. She is based in London…