News
No improvement in porting since Lehman, CCPs say
The collapse of MF Global last year saw clearing houses struggle to port client collateral to other firms - repeating problems seen after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in 2008
Seaway pipeline reversal: beginning of the end for negative WTI-Brent spread?
Analyst forecasts of how the reversal of the Seaway pipeline will affect the West Texas Intermediate-Brent spread vary widely. Jay Maroo reports
Actively managed ETFs in North America see dramatic inflows
Pimco and State Street launch new actively managed ETFs as US and Canadian markets see strong surge in assets under management
Life & Pension Risk Nordics: Market volatility and Solvency II 'present opportunities for life sector'
Solvency II must be implemented on time, says Länsförsäkringar Liv CFO
Coutte leaves SG CIB
Flow fixed-income and currencies co-head is latest in a series of senior sales and trading figures to leave the bank
Power and utilities M&A declines in volume but grows in value: Ernst & Young
Slow global economic recovery led to weak M&A activity in the global power and utilities sector in the first quarter of 2012, but deal value increased almost 20% from the previous quarter
Energy Risk USA: Storms, warm winter, fuel interest in weather derivatives
The extreme weather that hit North America recently has spurred interest in tools designed to hedge weather risk, according to participants speaking at Energy Risk USA
UK utilities face swap counterparty shortage
Bank downgrades could leave many structured finance transactions without acceptable swap providers - a potential nightmare for UK utilities
Readiness of IFAs for Retail Distribution Review called into question
Most independent financial advisers are still unprepared for the implementation of the FSA's Retail Distribution Review, according to market participants
Banks spend 25% of compliance budget on overseas regulation
New research finds banks face steep extraterritorial compliance costs
Europe’s institutional investors look to alternatives and cost-effective exposure
Institutional investors in Europe favour fixed-income and alternative assets as they continue de-risking their portfolios, with a focus on cost-effective market exposure and downside protection
S&P licenses new Italy LargeMidCap index to JP Morgan for bespoke products
JP Morgan is to use S&P Indices' new Italy LargeMidCap Index as the basis for bespoke structured products
Banks consider OTF aggregation in response to Mifid
Uncertainty over the future of single-dealer platforms under new European trading rules is prompting banks to consider price aggregation of OTC trading platforms
Dual directional products are ‘exceedingly complex’ says US securities research firm
Thirty-five dual directional structured products have been issued so far this year in the US, but research from a securities consulting firm warns against them
Real estate returns to ETF radar
Real estate exchange-traded funds have been attracting big inflows as property market returns beat equity benchmarks
FSA crackdown on Ucis to hit private wealth management hardest
The potential ban on the sale of unregulated collective investment schemes to retail will also reduce the range of investments in the private wealth sector, say industry participants
European certificates and leverage products see Q1 trading surge
European exchanges record higher trading volumes in investment certificates and leverage products in the first quarter of the year
Energy Risk USA: End-user exception to clearing impractical experts warn
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s proposed rule on the end-user exception to clearing is unworkable for many energy firms that use swaps for hedging say market experts
Energy Risk USA: CFTC to move quickly on swap definition – Berkovitz
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is very close to finalising its long-awaited definition of a swap, says CFTC general counsel Dan Berkovitz
No more Fed letter commitments expected, says Dudley
New York Fed will "stand down" as the CFTC and SEC "stand up", says New York Fed president
Why structured products might benefit from the FSA's Retail Distribution Review
Market participants in the UK are optimistic that the removal of commission in favour of fees for financial advice as part of the Financial Services Authority's Retail Distribution Review will help sales of structured products
VAR models in Vietnam give ‘false sense of security’
Lack of data for models is a function of Vietnam’s new capital markets – but no reason why the quality of data cannot improve over time, say speakers at Risk Vietnam conference
Cyprus presidency fears add urgency to CRD IV talks
Ecofin votes through new regulatory regime - and final amendments appear to give UK extra freedom - but work remains before Danish presidency ends on July 1
Research report outlines scope for Saarc power trading
Power trading across the Indian subcontinent is set to grow in size and interconnectivity, according to a GBI Research report