News
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.
Front adds back-office capability to Arena
Front Capital Systems, a Stockholm-based operating unit of Pennsylvania-based technology company SunGard, will finalise development of a new back-office capability next month that it will offer as part of its flagship trading system, Front Arena.
European telco news hits default swap market
European telecoms are back in the headlines this week, causing a surge of buying and selling activity in the market for default protection on active names. Rumours of a possible merger between Olivetti and Telecom Italia have intensified over the week…
Fimat appoints Zeltwanger as US chief executive
International derivatives brokerage house, Fimat, has named Cynthia Zeltwanger, former general manager of the company’s Chicago office and chief operating officer of the US business, as the new chief executive of Fimat USA.
Caruana to replace McDonough as Basel Committee chief
Jaime Caruana, governor of the Bank of Spain, will replace William McDonough, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
Isda muddies debt waters
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda) has finally released its 2003 credit derivatives definitions, which take effect on March 17.
Linkage between op risk measurement and management key, says Lawrence
The key question that operational risk managers must face is how they directly link op risk measurement to the process of op risk management, said Mark Lawrence, chief risk officer at ANZ Bank in Australia, today at the annual Operational Risk conference…
Fannie Mae to issue mortgage debt directly to foreign investors
Fannie Mae will issue foreign currency-denominated debt to help meet future house financing needs, the US secondary mortgage-market agency said today.
Eulia chief risk officer to run Prmia’s new Paris chapter
Christian Jimenez, chief risk officer for Eulia, the European Financial Alliance formed in 2002 by the Caisse des Dépôts Group and Caisse d'Epargne Group, will head the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association’s (Prmia) first Paris chapter.
Linkage between op risk measurement and management key, says Lawrence
Operational risk managers must face up to how they directly link op risk measurement to the process of op risk management, said Mark Lawrence, chief risk officer at ANZ Bank in Australia, today at the annual Operational Risk conference in London.
Creditex opens Asia-Pacific office
New York-based provider of credit derivatives data and trading services Creditex has opened an office in Singapore to cater for the growing credit derivatives market in Asia-Pacific.
ABN Amro expands structuring and advisory capabilities in Asia
Dutch bank ABN Amro has significantly bolstered its financial institutions and public sector group in Asia with the addition of 10 new hires, as it looks to extend its structuring and advisory capabilities across the region.
Reliant bows out of energy trading
Houston-based Reliant Energy has exited the energy derivatives trading market as a result of an $80 million trading loss it suffered at the end of February.
Caruana to replace McDonough as Basel Committee chief
Jaime Caruana, governor of the Bank of Spain, will replace William McDonough, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
Vol surge expected from Eastern Europe
Political events in countries slated to join the European Union and the euro are set to trigger a wave of foreign exchange volatility in emerging European countries, market participants said.
Algorithmics launches Algo Risk on Bloomberg
Algorithmics, the Toronto-headquartered provider of risk management software, has launched its Algo Risk risk management application, a product developed in partnership with news and information provider Bloomberg.
Tullett expands SwapMarker coverage
Tullett Financial, a subsidiary of inter-dealer broker Tullett, which provides data on derivatives products, has brought together its North American and European SwapMarker services to offer a single global service for real-time interest rate derivatives…
Amrolia quits as co-head of European corporates group at Goldman
Zar Amrolia, co-head of the European corporates group and former global head of foreign exchanges sales at Goldman Sachs, has left the bank after a series of job changes divested him of some of his forex responsibilities.
SG reorganises European forex derivatives sales team
SG, the corporate and investment banking arm of Société Générale, has reorganised its London-based, western European (excluding France) foreign exchange cash and derivatives sales team into two specialised lines.
£60 billion Isis fund signs up to Riskdata
Isis, a £60 billion UK investment fund created through the merger of Friends Ivory & Sime and Royal & SunAlliance Investments at the end of last year, has signed up to use an interactive risk management system developed by Paris-based company Riskdata.
Japan's banks under pressure as Nikkei hits fresh 20-year lows
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index fell to fresh 20-year lows today, sparking further concerns that the capital adequacy ratios of the country’s banks may come under acute pressure in the approach to the March fiscal year-end.
Risk ’s quant of the year backs Buffett
Peter Carr, recipient of Risk 's 2003 quant of the year award, said that in a [hypothetical] argument between quants convinced of the infallibility of their models and derivatives sceptics such as Warren Buffett, he would probably side with Buffett.
Poor auto sales and Fiat downgrade drives some spreads wider
The downgrade of debt issued by troubled Italian auto manufacturer Fiat to junk status sent the cost of its credit protection wider by about 125 basis points to 875/975bp. And poor US February auto sales released mid-week also prompted the widening on…
Opportunities exist for credit arbitrage in Asia, says Lehman
There are significant opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region for hedge funds employing credit and capital structure arbitrage, and a growing number of firms are starting to consider these strategies in the region, according to Dalip Awasthi, Tokyo…