News
Korean equity index volumes rocket, says BIS review
Korean and Japanese equity index contract volumes were the highlight of derivatives trading in the first quarter of this year, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), whose quarterly review of banking and financial markets developments…
Merrill’s debt protection costs fall following Spitzer deal
The cost of protection on Merrill Lynch senior five-year debt narrowed 25 basis points to 65bp/75bp today following the firm's settlement with New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer.
Futuresource to use Kdb for commodities database
Futuresource, a US provider of commodities and foreign exchange cash, futures and options data, will use Kx Systems’ Kdb database for its new scalable tick commodities database. The database is scheduled to begin rolling out mid-year, with implementation…
German golf club hedges against rainy days
A German golf club has become the latest European end-user to buy weather risk protection. Spectron Group, the London-based energy broker, arranged the precipitation-linked deal - its first leisure-sector weather derivative - along with French bank…
Askari CEO and founder Davies to step down
Peter Davies, founder and chief executive of Askari, told RiskNews that he has resigned from the company after a decade at the helm of the New York-headquartered specialist buy-side risk management vendor.
Basel II won’t affect most US banks, central banker says
The Basel II bank capital Accord will have virtually no effect on most US banks, US Federal Reserve Board vice-chairman Roger Ferguson said today.
Primus lures in Swiss Re’s Schaumann plus other key staff
Hilmar Schaumann, a senior credit derivatives trader for Swiss Re in New York, has quit the firm to join Primus Financial Products, a wholesale provider of credit risk protection.
BNP Paribas adds to energy derivatives team
BNP Paribas has hired two energy derivatives traders from JP Morgan Chase. Larry Felske joins BNP’s commodity-indexed transactions group as a director of natural gas options trading in New York, and Olivier Knight joins BNP’s London desk as an oil…
ICE expands into European power markets
Atlanta-based electronic energy and commodities trading platform the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is set to trade UK, German and French power derivatives.
Currency overlay may see strong growth in US
Currency overlay – the management of currency exposures in an investment portfolio separate from underlying asset exposures – is set to increase in the US at a rapid rate, claimed speakers at a global foreign exchange conference hosted by Deutsche Bank…
Danske continues forwards drive
Den Danske Bank has recruited foreign exchange forwards dealer Barry Smith in London as part of the bank’s bid to rebuild its forwards desk, said Matthew Couch, Den Danske's chief dealer for money markets forwards.
Citigroup names new global head of FX options
Citigroup has made Steven Reiter global head of foreign exchange options, replacing Ian Robertson, who filled the post temporarily after the departure of former options head Jack Jeffery in December.
Goldman Sachs seeks to boost CDO transparency
Goldman Sachs is seeking to improve collateralised debt obligation (CDO) market transparency by making the proprietary models for cashflow CDOs it underwrites available to all subscribers of Intex CDO analytics. Intex is a widely used electronic database…
Deutsche hires boost Iberia derivatives coverage
Deutsche Bank has poached Juan Jose Macias from Barclays Capital and Virilo Moro from Dresdner Kleinwort Wassertstein (DrKW) to boost its derivatives business in Spain and Portugal, following its earlier hire of Mariano Aldama as head of debt captial…
US minimum bank asset ratios suggested for larger banks
European banking supervisors might follow the example of US regulators and develop the concept of well-capitalised banks with higher minimum protective capital than required under the Basel bank capital adequacy Accord, according to some European…
Credit Markets Update: Repsol spreads fluctuate on disposal plans
The cost of credit protection on Spanish energy company Repsol fluctuated in a 50-basis point range yesterday, as traders took different stances on the impact of its planned disposal of a 23% stake in Spanish energy company Gas Natural.
US risk officers move to form powerful standards committee
Chief risk officers (CROs) at North American energy companies are planning to set up a potentially powerful best practice standards body, provisionally dubbed the CRO Committee. The committee is still in the planning stages, but is believed to be…
Island tie-up may give Instinet push to upgrade technology
The rumoured tie-up between electronic communication networks (ECNs) Instinet and Island could give 83% Reuters-owned Instinet the impetus it needs to upgrade its equities trading platform technology, parts of which are almost 20 years old.
Rates Markets Update: Swap activity dominated by interest rate speculation
Euro swap rates pushed up following increased expectations of an early European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate hike this week. Two-year swap yields rose by around 10 basis points on the week, five-year yields moved up 6bp, and 10-year to 30-year yields…
S&P alters its core earning methodology
Standard & Poor’s has reacted to criticism of its corporate rating methodology by changing its system for evaluating corporate earnings in the future. The New York-based rating agency will focus on core earnings – roughly defined as after-tax earnings…
DrKW appoints new deputy head of equity derivatives trading
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has expanded its equity derivatives business with the hire of Areski Iberrakene as its deputy head of equity derivatives trading. He is due to join the bank next week.
Lim bows out as Merrill EMEA fixed-income head
Merrill Lynch’s European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) fixed-income head TJ Lim has resigned, a move some observers believe is the result of his being passed over for promotion when the US investment bank reshuffled its debt division late last year.
GFI brings in leading academics for Fenics Credit
Broker and derivatives pricing software provider GFI has entered a partnership agreement with professors John Hull and Alan White, two leading derivatives academics, to develop a pricing tool for credit derivatives.
Prosecutions of Enron staff highly unlikely, says ex-employee
A senior ex-Enron employee at the heart of the scandal that led to history's largest corporate bankruptcy told RiskNews' sister publication Energy & Power Risk Management that he expects no prosecution to be brought against Enron staff.