News
Gold hedging falls further out of vogue
The world’s top 84 gold producers cut their collective hedging positions in fourth-quarter 2002 by 4.9 million ounces, in response to a rising gold price and an increased appetite for pure gold exposure, according to a hedging survey released this week…
SEC charges Merill Lynch in Enron case
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday charged Merrill Lynch and four of its former senior executives with aiding and abetting Enron’s alleged securities fraud – the first time a regulator has charged a bank with aiding the Houston…
ECB highlights dangers of over-concentrated FX market
Market consolidation and a reliance on electronic trading in the foreign exchange markets could lead to an over-concentration of risk and liquidity among too few market participants, the European Central Bank has warned.
CME and Shanghai Futures Exchange sign agreement
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) have signed an agreement to collaborate in derivatives product development, the exchanges said a statement.
SEI links with RiskMetrics to improve hedge fund risk reporting
SEI Investments, an alternative investment fund service based in Pennsylvania, has teamed up with New York-based risk analytics company RiskMetrics in a bid to solve the discrepancy between investors seeking accurate risk reporting from hedge funds and…
GL Trade clients hit by Liffe API glitch
A software glitch that cut off some firms’ connectivity to the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe) late last month appears to have affected mostly clients of GL Trade, the Paris-based provider of data display and trading…
AIG hires ex-Commerzbank options dealers in London
Former Commerzbank foreign exchange options dealers Behnouche Mostachfi and Damian Zihlman have joined AIG Trading in London. Both report to Greenwich-based global head of foreign exchange options and head of forex Donald Lee.
EU supervisory committee to be established
The European Commission is establishing a supervisory committee designed to promote convergence among EU nations in the adoption of the Basel Accord revisions and the related EU Capital Adequacy Directive (CAD), according to Jean-Claude Thebault, head of…
Op risk economic capital is 15%, says BIS study
Banks allocate an average of 15% of their economic capital for operational risk, according to a study released today by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
Sophis adds credit derivatives pricing to risk platform
Sophis, a risk management technology vendor based in Paris, has enhanced its 'Risque 'portfolio and risk management system with added credit derivatives pricing and risk management capabilities.
QIS3 results delayed until May
The release of the third quantitative impact study results will be delayed until May, when they will be published alongside the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision's third Consultation Paper (CP3), according to Patricia Jackson, special adviser on…
Japanese banks' spreads widen following Nikkei tumble
Credit protection on the debt of Japan’s major banks widened this week as the Nikkei stock index hit a new 20-year low. Investors were concerned that the Nikkei 225 index's fall below the psychologically important 8,000 level - it plunged to 7,862.43 on…
South Korean CDS spreads tighten after earlier panic protection buying
The cost of protection on South Korean sovereign US dollar credit dropped from this week’s higher levels as market sentiment improved, but dealers said that the market is still nervous and there could be more volatility in the credit default swaps market.
Equity rally prompts tightening of financial spreads
The upswing in equity prices in the second half of the week has prompted a contraction in credit default swap spreads for European banks and insurance companies. But German names, including HVB, were still trading at wider levels for subordinate…
NY Fed’s Rutledge outlines US plans, IRB goals
William Rutledge, executive vice-president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, outlined the next steps US regulators will take to implement the Basel Accords in the US.
QIS 3 results to be delayed to May
The release of the third Quantitative Impact Study (QIS3) results will be delayed until May.
Enron charged with gas and broadband manipulation
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) yesterday finally charged bankrupt energy trader Enron and a former company vice-president with manipulating natural gas prices. Also yesterday, federal authorities arrested on fraud charges two Enron…
FASB votes to review stock-based compensation standards
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) yesterday voted to review its standards on treating the cost of employee stock options as an expense. The move follows the submission of almost 300 industry comments on the issue.
Lehman to structure South Korean equity-linked securities
Lehman Brothers plans to structure 2.5 trillion won ($2 billion) of South Korean equity-linked securities to be issued and sold by two domestic securities firms in South Korea. The move follows regulatory changes at the end of February that allowed…
Bear Stearns appoints new head of convertibles origination
Bear Stearns has appointed Paul Rosica from Lehman Brothers as senior managing director and head of convertibles origination in its equity capital markets group.
HVB closes $1 billion CDO
Germany’s Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank (HVB) has closed a $1 billion hybrid collateralised debt obligation, according to an official at the German banking group. The transaction was structured by HVB in Singapore, and HVB Asset Management Asia is the…
US commercial banks’ trading revenues down 21.5%
Total cash and derivative trading revenues at US commercial banks decreased by $508 million, to $1.86 billion, in the final quarter of 2002, according to research from the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC).
UBS Warburg taps CDO structurers from JP Morgan Chase
UBS Warburg has recruited two senior collateralised debt obligation (CDO) structurers, Jeff Herlyn and Mike Rosenburg, from JP Morgan Chase.
CBA enhances risk management and dealing technology
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has carried out a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing efficiencies in its dealing and risk management operations.