News
Moody’s puts Natexis’ financial strength rating on review for downgrade
Credit rating agency Moody’s has placed the B- financial strength rating of Natexis Banques Populaires on review for possible downgrade, following the French bank’s confirmation late last week that it had made a significant loss at its structured equity…
IIF hires new deputy managing director
The Institute of International Finance (IIF) has named Peter McCarthy as deputy managing director with responsibility for regulatory activities.
Salame joins Tanemura as co-head of credit derivatives at Goldman
Goldman Sachs has promoted head of credit trading for Europe and Asia, Pablo Salame, to co-head of global credit derivatives alongside Ron Tanemura, who was previously sole global head of credit derivatives.
MBIA and S&P join war of words with Gotham over reinsurer’s AAA rating
Jay Brown, chairman of US monoline reinsurance company MBIA, entered into a row with Gotham Partners Management yesterday over comments made in a report issued by the US hedge fund. Brown called the report, which suggested MBIA should lose its coveted …
HVB downgrade forces spreads wider
The cost of five-year senior protection for HypoVereinsbank (HVB) widened by more than 10 basis points to 95/115bp yesterday after rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the German bank. The downgrade, along with another negative report on bank risk…
Ralfe to leave UK retailer Boots
John Ralfe, head of corporate finance at UK retailer Boots, has resigned from the company amid media speculation that he fell out with senior management over accounting and other issues related to the running of the company’s pension fund.
Afa Systems to de-list from London’s main exchange
Afa Systems, a UK provider of pricing, portfolio modelling, trading and risk management software, plans to de-list from London’s principal stock exchange and move its shares to London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim).
BIS: OTC derivatives notionals rise 15% in the first half of 2002
The Bank for International Settlements said total notional volume of over-the-counter contracts outstanding increased 15% to almost $128 trillion in the first half of 2002.
Cal-Comp Electronics offers US dollar-denominated convertible bond
Thailand’s Cal-Comp Electronics has closed the country’s first US dollar-denominated convertible bond since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, said sole bookrunner SG, the corporate and investment banking unit of French banking group Société Générale.
Nord Pool signs seven-year clearing deal with OM
Nordic Electricity Clearing House (Nech), the clearing subsidiary of Nordic energy exchange Nord Pool, has signed a seven-year contract with Swedish technology and derivatives exchange company OM to supply its clearing services.
Basel II to boost both large and small banks' loan prices
The prices of some loan products for retail and middle-market corporate clients will almost certainly rise when banks implement the Basel II capital Accord in 2006, according to speakers at Risk ’s Capital Allocation 2002 USA conference this morning.
France Telecom’s imminent €1.5bn bond hits spreads by 7bp
France Telecom’s plans to tap the bond market for the first time this year with a seven-year, €1.5 billion bond issue caused its cost of credit protection on five-year debt to widen by 7 basis points to 280/290bp today.
Basel II unlikely to cause marked cut in lending to emerging markets, says Bank of England
LONDON - The proposed Basel II bank accord seems unlikely to cause a marked contraction in lending to borrowers in emerging markets, even low quality borrowers, the Bank of England said today.
LSE moves to offer new equity derivatives services
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) plans to buy OM London Exchange and will rename the company EDX London. The move is part of a bid by the LSE to improve efficiency and risk management in the equity derivatives business.
Merrill Lynch takes Fenics
Merrill Lynch today said it will deploy the Fenics FX options pricing software from New York-based broker and vendor GFI Group in 100 global positions. Fenics replaces Merrill’s existing in-house pricing platform for FX options.
Basel II unlikely to cause marked cut in emerging markets lending, says Bank of England
The proposed Basel II bank Accord seems unlikely to cause a marked contraction in lending to borrowers in emerging markets, even low quality borrowers, the Bank of England said today.
AIG makes senior FX appointments
AIG Trading Group has made four senior additions to its global foreign exchange operation over the past two months, a spokesperson in the bank’s Greenwich, Connecticut headquarters said.
BarCap builds credit team with two new hires
Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of the UK’s Barclays Bank, has boosted its presence in the European credit derivatives business through two new hires.
ST Asset Management mulls CDOs and plans to boost headcount
ST Asset Management (STAM) is planning to increase its staff – which is currently 19-strong – by one third throughout next year, in a push to become a key participant in Asia’s structured finance market, according to Chong Jiun Yeh, a senior vice…
Credit protection for European telecoms continues to tighten
The cost of credit protection for European telecoms continued to tighten this week, led by France Telecom and boosted by an S&P upgrade for the Netherlands' KPN yesterday. Elsewhere in Europe, spreads remained tight with little movement, including those…
Weak yen helps cheapen protection on Japanese exporters
A weaker Japanese yen earlier this week lifted market sentiment on the financial prospects of Japanese export companies, which caused their credit protection costs to narrow up to 20 basis points.
Natexis hit by heavy equity derivatives losses
French bank Natexis Banques Populaires has made significant losses from its equity derivatives trading business due to poor risk control and failures in the bank’s valuation models.
Japan's SMEs facing funding crisis
Japan's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing the worst funding crisis since the 1997/98 Asian financial meltdown, according Hiroshi Nakaso, associate director of the financial markets department at the Bank of Japan, speaking at Risk…
JP Morgan Chase prepares largest Asian managed synthetic CDO
JP Morgan Chase is preparing to launch what will be the largest synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) to date to be managed by an Asian fund manager. The $1.7 billion deal will be managed by Singapore's UOB Asset Management, say Asian investors…