News
Korea's Kookmin Bank to launch equity derivatives desk
Anticipating an increase in South Korean equity derivatives activity, Korea's Kookmin Bank is looking to establish a dedicated equity derivatives desk by the end of the year, said Nicholas O'Kane, Kookmin's Seoul-based business head for derivatives and…
OTC market may have to accept regulatory change post-Enron, says CFTC head
The over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives industry may have to accept changes to regulation following the collapse of Enron, James Newsome, chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) warned this morning.
Single-stock futures regulation just days away, says Newsome
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is keen to hammer out regulatory issues related to the trading of single-stock futures in the US in "a matter of days", CFTC chairman James Newsome said this morning.
ING names new head of financial markets in Singapore
ING Financial Markets, a unit of Dutch banking and insurance group ING Group, has named Percy Rueber as managing director and head of financial markets in Singapore.
FXall and FXpress plan STP link
Foreign exchange trading platform FXall and FXpress, a Pennsylvania-based currency risk management company, are integrating their systems to allow straight through processing (STP) of trades.
Voltrex appoints European director
Voltrex Options, a derivatives brokerage house based in London, has appointed Arnaud Fransioli as director for Europe. Fransioli assumes responsibility for developing the company’s business on all main continental European derivatives markets, starting…
Crédit Lyonnais builds up credit derivatives capability in Tokyo
French bank Crédit Lyonnais intends to develop its credit derivatives activity in Japan, with two new hires, one internal transfer and possibly one further hire, said Edward Willems, head of credit derivatives in Tokyo.
Op risk is much more than a capital allocation exercise, says Moody's
Moody's Investors Service said banks should treat operational risk management as much more than just another regulatory capital allocation exercise. In a special report, the international rating agency said capital is "an incomplete line of defence"…
BrokerTec confirms takeover talks
Bond trading platform BrokerTec has confirmed widespread industry rumours that it is the subject of takeover talks. BrokerTec issued a statement on Friday stating it received approaches from several parties about "possible strategic combinations”, and…
New Hong Kong IRS benchmarks could boost local derivatives market
New longer-dated benchmarks for Hong Kong interest rate swaps could boost the city’s local derivatives market, say some market participants.
Goldman study: S&P 500 volatility rockets in Q2
Single-stock and index volatility has shot up since the end of the first quarter of 2002, according to research by investment bank Goldman Sachs.
GFI to offer price data on S&P Comstock
Rating agency and financial information provider Standard & Poor’s has teamed up with New-York based brokerage and data provider GFI to deliver GFI’s real-time market data on its Comstock feed. S&P will deliver GFI data on foreign exchange (FX) options,…
Creditex updates PriceTracker
New-York based provider of credit derivatives data and trading service Creditex has released a new version of its PriceTracker pricing service that covers new sectors and search criteria. Creditex will also add Standard & Poor’s credit ratings to the…
Credit Markets Update: European spreads drift wider due to negative sentiment
Credit default swap spreads in Europe drifted gradually wider during the week, reacting to weakness in the equity markets and general economic pessimism. Five-year debt protection spreads were 30 to 40 basis points wider on European telecoms, 3-8bp wider…
XL London Market appoints risk director
XL London Market, an insurance syndicate at Lloyd’s of London, has appointed Paul Drake as director of risk management, a newly created position.
OCC promotes Cahill to president
The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), the US clearing organisation for financial derivatives, has promoted Michael Cahill to the post of president and chief operating officer, effective July 1.
Japan Credit Market Update: Investors run for Sumitomo cover ahead of jumbo debt offer
The banking and electronic sectors were the most traded in Japan’s credit default swap market this week, driven by a new jumbo subordinated debt offer from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and continued interest in the electronics sector.
Update: Fitch calls for notching debate
Fitch Ratings today called for an open forum debate on the practice of collateralised debt obligation notching. Fitch released a report yesterday slamming its rival Moody’s for notching bonds in CDOs that Moody’s did not originally rate. Fitch claims the…
BMO aims to boost credit derivatives sales with new hires
The Bank of Montreal (BMO) plans to boost its credit business in London following its hire of Emma Vassallo and Lucile de Carbonnières as managing directors of its credit derivatives group.
Market alarmed by French securitisation ruling
A proposal by the Commission Bancaire, the French banking regulator, to change the capital risk weighting system on all French securitisations, has caused consternation among market participants. The proposal, introduced in a bulletin on April 26,…
Fitch hits back at Moody's in CDO ratings row
Rating agency Fitch moved to defend its standing in the collateralised debt obligation (CDO) rating market by slating the ‘notching’ practices used by rival rating agency Moody’s in a formal report yesterday.
Risk 2002 USA: Deutsche’s Kühborth says op risk is about managing people
Deutsche Bank managing director for operational risk, Gerd Kühborth, told delegates at Risk magazine’s Risk 2002 USA conference late yesterday that effective operational risk boiled down to sound people management.
NAB offers soft commodity hedging in Australia
National Australia Bank (NAB) has launched a range of soft commodity hedging products to cater for the country's large agricultural sector.
ZCM forms new risk advisory group
Zurich Capital Markets (ZCM), the New York-based alternative asset management firm, has formed a new risk advisory unit in Australia, and appointed John Martin, formerly of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), as managing director of the group.