News
Reliant derivatives probe may hit core business
Public Citizen, the Washington, DC-based pressure group, has called for the debarment of Reliant Energy from its newly awarded $35.9 million electricity contract by the US Department of Defense - and any new government contracts - while it is under…
KWI hires SVP of operations
KWI, the London-based provider of trading and risk management software for the energy industry, today announced the appointment of Alan Somerville as senior vice president (SVP) of operations.
Pressure group calls for debarment of Reliant’s US Dept of Defense contracts
Public Citizen, the Washington DC-based pressure group, has called for the debarment of Reliant Energy from its newly awarded $35.9 million electricity contract by the US Department of Defense while it is under federal indictment for its role in creating…
BaFin approves ABN Amro SVP funded by structured debt
BaFin, the German financial markets regulator, has cleared a new product allowing financial institutions to sell assets into German special-purpose vehicles (SVP) funded by asset-backed securities without needing a banking licence.
NumeriX hires BGM co-creator
NumeriX, the cross-asset derivatives pricing software vendor based in New York, has hired Dariusz Gatarek as director of quantitative research in its London office.
AIG to form cross-border op risk sub-group
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision's Accord Implementation Group (AIG) will shortly form a sub-group to focus on cross-border op risk issues, according to several regulatory sources. Regulators and the industry are pressing for a greater role in…
Fourth consecutive record quarterly inflow to hedge funds, says Tass
Investors continued to favour equity-orientated strategies during the first quarter of this year, with hedge funds gaining a record $38.2 billion in net assets, the fourth consecutive quarterly record for industry inflows, according to Tass Research, a…
Barclays Capital purchases gold market-fixing seat
London-based investment bank Barclays Capital has purchased membership of the London gold market-fixing forum (LGMF) from NM Rothschild and Sons, the London-based bank that recently signalled its intention to leave the gold market.
HSBC goes on a hiring spree for its ABS group
HSBC has hired six people for its asset-backed securities (ABS) group in New York, as part of an ongoing effort to build this area of its business.
Former chairman of Australian regulator urges credit risk rethink
Banks need to move their focus from credit risk measurement to credit risk management, according to Jeffrey Carmichael, former chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
Bank of America sets up new Asia debt management team
Bank of America (BoA) has set up a new debt management team in Asia to build on its efforts in debt capital raising, distribution, structuring and trading activities throughout the region, the bank said.
Nymex introduces trading in western electricity futures
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) is to introduce trading in four western electricity futures contracts, based on Dow Jones Electricity Indexes, on its ClearPort electronic platform beginning with the June 4 trading session, which starts at 3:15…
FOA close to releasing UK power trading guidelines
The UK Futures and Options Association (FOA) says it is close to releasing final drafts of guidelines on various areas of the UK power market. The problem areas identified by the FOA's Power Trading Forum (PTF) are reference pricing, credit risk…
CLS for FX is 'changing the front-office'
The continuous-linked settlement (CLS) service for foreign exchange trades has changed credit and trading practices among the majority of its users, reveals research from IT consultancy TowerGroup published this week.
Linedata rolls out compliance engine
Buy-side technology vendor Linedata Services has launched an enterprise-wide pre- and post-trade compliance engine, Linedata Compliance.
Tweaks to op risk in Basel II in pipeline
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision announced in mid-May that it would delay the implementation of the advanced measurement approach (AMA) for op risk, as well as the advanced internal ratings-based approach for credit risk, until the end of 2007…
Regulators highlight the challenges of establishing internal credit ratings
Panelists at a World Bank conference in Washington, DC, yesterday outlined recommendations to banks in emerging markets considering implementing internal credit ratings systems.
Bank One casualties emerge
The first casualties from JP Morgan Chase’s upcoming purchase of Bank One – due to complete on July 5 – emerged last week with the news that both the Chicago-based bank’s foreign exchange heads in London are leaving, according to RiskNews’ sister…
CME to offer electronic forex trading through Reuters terminals
Reuters customers will have direct access to the professional interbank foreign exchange markets via the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) electronic trading platform, Globex, later this year.
Barclays Capital introduces electronic dollar interest rate swaps trading
Barclays Capital has enabled users of Bloomberg Professional to trade dollar interest rate swaps electronically via its automated real-time execution platform, Barx.
Former chairman of Australian regulator urges credit risk rethink
Banks need to move their focus from credit risk measurement to credit risk management, according to Jeffrey Carmichael, former chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
Traditional ratios fail to accurately measure liquidity
Traditional liquidity metrics “leave much to be desired”, said Leonard Matz, managing director of Kamakura Corporation, at an address at the World Bank in Washington, DC. His talk was part of a workshop on assessing, managing and supervising financial…
DrKW recruits corporate repo and collateral trader
Glenn Handley has joined German investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein from Barclays Capital to work within the credit financing and collateral trading (CFCT) team, part of the short-term products and treasury group in London.
Liquidity, not regulation, is key to avoid manipulation, says CFTC
Regulators should avoid the temptation to implement over-zealous regulation of the energy derivatives market, and instead encourage the development of liquidity, if market manipulation is to be avoided. That was the message delivered by Sharon Brown…