News
€15bn floods bill unlikely to further hurt insurance sector
Insurers and reinsurers are unlikely to face significant financial difficulties following serious flooding in central Europe that has caused damage worth around €15 billion, according to research by UBS Warburg.
DrKW recruits London-based credit derivatives flow trader
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW), the investment banking arm of Germany’s Dresdner Bank, has hired Paul Lewitt as director and head of credit derivatives flow trading based in London. The London hire follows a ramp-up of DrKW’s credit derivatives…
BNP Paribas prepares seventh Japan synthetic CDO
French bank BNP Paribas is preparing to close its seventh Japanese synthetic arbitrage collateralised debt obligation (CDO) under its Serena Finance programme, according to a senior Tokyo-based official at the bank.
OneChicago and Nasdaq Liffe to use SunGard system for SSF clearing
OneChiacgo Futures Exchange and Nasdaq Liffe Markets (NQLX) have signed up SunGard’s GMI back-office clearing system for trading single-stock futures (SSFs).
Bear Stearns hires US rate futures sales manager
US investment bank Bear Stearns has hired Alan Swimmer from rival Citigroup Salomon Smith Barney as a senior managing director and national sales manager for its interest rate futures business.
Japan OTC derivatives post gains
The notional value of outstanding over-the-counter (OTC)derivatives contracts in Japan increased by 10.8% in the six months to June 2002, according to figures released by the Bank of Japan.
Grim outlook for energy merchants, says S&P
The future of many US energy merchants hinges on their ability to maintain adequate levels of liquidity over the next several months, according to Standard & Poor’s. Although some energy firms with trading operations are making progress on asset sales,…
Korean pension fund employs Kamakura system
Korea Teachers Pension Fund has adopted Honolulu-based risk management software-company Kamakura Corporation’s risk software suite Kamakura Risk Manager-var, for market risk and investment analysis.
Japan’s Mizuho mandates Merrill for large synthetic CLO
Mizuho Corporate Bank has mandated Merrill Lynch for what could be Japan’s largest synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CLO), according to market sources in Tokyo.
New vendor to compete with IBM and BEA Systems for bank op risk business
GoldTier Technologies, based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, is looking to compete with IBM and BEA Systems in the financial workflow order management systems business. Technology for workflow order management aims to reduce the operational risk posed by…
First sale of equity tranche from residential mortgage-backed synthetic
Aareal Bank has sold the first-loss tranche of its synthetic securitisation, in what is believed to be the first residential mortgage-backed synthetic transaction where the originating bank has not retained the first-loss risk.
New credit structures appear in Asia
A handful of banks have begun marketing increasingly complex credit structures to yield hungry institutional investors in Asia, amid low interest rates and under-performing stock markets around the region.
Japanese credit spreads continue to tighten after recent sell-off
Credit default swaps in Japan continued to narrow following a sell-off in the past week or two, although volumes remained low this week, Tokyo dealers said. Spreads on five-year debt protection for electronics sector companies tightened by as much as 30…
FSA to review regulation of hedge funds
Hedge funds could become more accessible to UK retail investors following a Financial Services Authority (FSA) statement saying current restrictive selling rules are to be reviewed.
UBS hires Paget to derivatives marketing role
UBS Warburg has hired James Paget as an executive director in the European financial institutions derivatives marketing group, part of the firm’s interest rates division. Based in London, he will report to Philippe Jordan and Jacopo Levi-Morenos, co…
CreditTrade to expand coverage with $8 million venture capital
Credit derivatives inter-dealer broker and data provider CreditTrade has secured more than $8 million of venture capital investment to grow its data services and broaden its product coverage.
Over-reliance on risk models a danger, says Lawrence
Financial institution risk managers must be wary of relying too heavily on risk models and systems, according to Mark Lawrence, chief risk officer at Australian bank ANZ, speaking at Risk Waters Group’s third annual Risk Australia conference in Sydney…
ACT calls for scrapping of derivatives accounting standard Fred 23
The UK’s Association of Corporate Treasures (ACT) has petitioned regulators not to force treasurers at UK-listed companies to implement hedge accounting standard Fred 23 next year.
Duke says Ferc probe unrelated to Australian investment curb
Duke Energy International (DEI) today denied speculation that its curb in Australian pipelines investments was related to US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) investigations into US parent Duke Energy’s alleged round-trip trades on the…
Commerzbank boosts US derivatives distribution team
Commerzbank Securities, the investment banking arm of Germany's Commerzbank, has hired Judith Erdman as head of third-party distribution in the US. She will report to Sam Gottesman, Commerzbank's New York-based head of distribution for derivatives in the…
CLS could be protected settlement system under Singapore law
Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS), the global payments system that aims to reduce settlement risk in international currency markets, could be a legally protected designated system under proposed Singapore laws, Singapore financial regulators said today.
Credit Market Update: Buyers of protection pull back bids for European credits
Buyers of protection have pulled back their bids in the European credit default swap market this week, in response to positive market news and sentiment, coupled with greater stability on the equity markets.
HSBC hires CSFB’s global head of structuring
HSBC has appointed Chris McHugh, former global head of structuring at CSFB, as European head of foreign exchange derivatives structuring.
Conde takes CEO post at SunGard
Cristobal Conde has been elected chief executive of Pennsylvania-based risk technology company SunGard, adding to his current responsibilities as president.