News
Hetco stops power trading
Hetco, the New York-based proprietary energy trading company, has closed its power trading desk. Hetco was created in 1997 as a joint venture between US oil major Amerada Hess and Stephen Hendel and Stephen Semlitz, two former partners of Goldman Sachs,…
Montréal Exchange extends access to UK
Bourse de Montréal, the Montréal Exchange, yesterday said that brokers in the UK will now have direct access to its market and products, following discussions with the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the regulatory authority in the UK.
GNI selects SunGard’s Panorama
London-based GNI Fund Management has signed up to use SunGard Trading and Risk Systems' real-time risk management product, Panorama, for its portfolio management and risk reporting activities. GNI Fund Management, which has $529 million under management,…
FSA fines RBS for anti-money laundering control failings
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK’s chief financial services watchdog, yesterday fined the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) £750,000 for breaching its anti-money laundering rules. It is the first time the FSA has issued a financial penalty for…
Rabobank to expand corporate risk management services
Rabobank plans to expand its interest rate and currency consultancy services for corporate clients from January 1 2003, providing online updates of the market value of outstanding corporate treasury transactions.
Cadbury’s acquisition causes its credit protection to rise
The cost of credit protection for Cadbury Schweppes widened nearly 20 basis points in trading yesterday. The British confectioner was downgraded following the announcement of its decision to buy Adams, the chewing-gum maker, from US pharmaceutical…
Duke bows out of European power trading
Duke Energy is to pull out of power trading in Europe, following a strategic review of its business, a spokeswoman for the US energy company told RiskNews today.
ESpeed and CBOT sign distribution agreement
ESpeed, the electronic trading subsidiary of brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald, today said it has entered into an agreement with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). The agreement, which will distribute CBOT products through the eSpeed system, will provide…
Bear Stearns loses global fixed-income and derivatives head
Sean Hamidi, global head of fixed-income and derivatives at Bear Stearns in London, has left the bank and not been replaced, an official told RiskNews ' sister publication FX Week .
Problem trades are ‘eating up forex profits’, says SunGard
Nearly a quarter of FX transaction profits are eaten up by ‘exceptions’, or problem trades, according to a survey of 500 financial institutions. The lost margin is a result of staff and compensation costs, said SunGard ePI, the processing unit of US…
Financial institutions must take lead in rebuilding public trust, says PwC
Financial institutions need to lead the way in improved transparency, but are uncertain about how best to improve their own standards of disclosure and governance, according to a study by financial services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Greenspan says international rules reflect cultural differences
WASHINGTON – Efforts to synchronise individual countries' regulatory systems are far more than a technical exercise – they largely reflect differing conventions of business behaviour, especially attitudes toward competition, US Federal Reserve Board…
EU spells out pillar 2 powers
BRUSSELS – The European Commission seems to have spelled out how it sees the second pillar – supervisory review – of its new bank capital rules in greater detail than global banking regulators have so far done for the Basel II accord, banking industry…
OCC reports increase in derivatives notionals, but notes decrease in trading earnings
Derivatives held by US commercial banks increased by $3.1 trillion in the third quarter 2002, to $53.2 trillion, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said in its quarterly report. But the OCC also reported that earnings attributable to…
onExchange confirms it was bidder for Rolfe & Nolan
onExchange, the US back-office technology company, today confirmed market rumours that it made an offer to buy out UK-based financial technology company Rolfe & Nolan. Although Rolfe & Nolan rejected onExchange’s conditional, indicative offer of 85p per…
BNP to offer derivatives based on S&P Hedge Fund Index
BNP Paribas has been granted a licence by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to deliver derivatives products linked to the S&P Hedge Fund Index. BNP is the first bank to be given permission to develop derivatives based on the index.
COR sets sights on building North America business
COR Risk Solutions, a London-based portfolioanalytics software company, has hired ReneRobillard as business development director for North America – a newly created post.
Prebon reorganises derivatives business
UK-based inter-dealer broker Prebon Marshall Yamane has reorganised its cash forwards and derivatives businesses in London. Rob Osborne, formerly manager of the dollar off-balance-sheet desk, takes the newly created role of divisional managing director…
Commerzbank cuts in London
Commerzbank has shed four foreign exchange jobs in London, a source at the bank told RiskNews ' sister publication FX Week . Among the departures was Behnouche Mostachfi, a senior FX options trader, the source confirmed. Another un-named options dealer,…
Jones leaves patsystems
David Jones, previously interim chief executive at London-based derivatives technology company patsystems, has left the company’s board to concentrate on other business ventures outside financial software. In September, Jones was replaced by Kevin Ashby,…
Europe's credit outlook remains bleak, says S&P
The most severe stage of the credit cycle may be over, but the creditworthiness of European companies and institutional borrowers will remain weak in 2003, according to rating agency Standard & Poor’s.
Academic voices dissatisfaction with Basel II
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision still has a great deal of work to do before the Basel II capital accord can be successfully implemented at financial institutions, Jacques Pézier, director of the risk management group of the ISMA Centre at the…
Nymex to launch OTC trading platform
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) said it plans to introduce a trading platform designed for over-the-counter energy market participants in January, with beta tests beginning next week.
Lehman's prime brokerage to offer clients RiskMetrics tools online
Lehman Brothers' global prime brokerage unit will offer RiskMetrics' RiskManager tool to hedge funds, fund of funds and investors via its website, LehmanLive. The RiskManager service features value-at-risk, stress testing and 'what-if' scenario…