News
Crunch time for Solvency II
Daily news headlines
More MCAs needed to meet equity derivatives targets
Participants in the equity derivatives market say a significant amount of work remains to be done on standardising documentation before it can meet regulators' electronic processing targets for over-the-counter trades.
Standard Chartered boosts currency team
Standard Chartered Bank has appointed Felipe De Freitas as head trader in charge of Latin American foreign exchange options.
Financial CDSs widen worldwide
Fading investor confidence in the stability of financial institutions has caused the cost of credit protection on banks across the globe to increase over the past 24 hours.
WTC bomb prosecutor to lead SEC enforcement
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has named Robert Khuzami, the former federal prosecutor who brought the case against the 1993 World Trade Center bombers, as its new director of enforcement.
More ARS writedowns still to come
At least 184 auction-rate securities (ARS) holders are continuing to mark their notes to par almost a year on from the implosion of the $330 billion market - meaning further writedowns are inevitable, a new report has concluded.
UBS credit derivatives head departs
The head of credit derivatives for UBS, Keith Grimaldi, has left the bank.
Isda adds buy-side members to board for first time
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has elected three buy-side members to its board for the first time in the organisation's history.
Banks agree to EU CCP for clearing CDS
Nine major dealers agreed to use an EU central counterparty (CCP) for clearing trades in credit default swaps (CDSs) today, paving the way for talks to resume with the European Commission.
Bank of Japan steps up support for corporates
The Bank of Japan has expanded its programme of supporting corporate debt, in an attempt to shore up the country's rapidly contracting economy.
JI finally accredits first third party verifier
The Kyoto Protocol's Joint Implementation (JI) mechanism has accredited its first third party verifier, TÜV SÜD Industrie Service, almost ten years after the UN-backed carbon offsetting mechanism was first agreed upon.
CDSs on Fortis tighten
The cost of credit protection on Dutch and Belgian bank Fortis narrowed this morning, after Fortis chairman Jozef de Mey and BNP Paribas chief executive Baudoin Prot told media the takeover deal between the two banks is still alive.
Auction fixes low recovery rates for Smurfit-Stone CDS
At an auction held today, data vendor Markit and broker Creditex determined final settlement values for credit derivatives trades referencing St Louis- and Chicago-based paper-packaging company Smurfit-Stone Container.
Senior bankers swap seats at BNP
Jacques d'Estais, BNP Paribas' head of corporate and investment banking, has exchanged jobs with the head of asset management and services, Alain Papiasse.
SEC charges Stanford with $8 billion fraud
Daily news headlines
SEC charges Stanford with fraud
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged R Allen Stanford with orchestrating a fraud of a "shocking magnitude" via his asset management and broker-dealer advisory companies under the Stanford Group name.
Crunch time for Solvency II
The top European Union institutions are embroiled in trilateral negotiations in Brussels to agree on a draft text of the Solvency II insurance directive before the April 2 deadline.
US Treasury doubles aid to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The US Treasury is investing another $200 billion in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as part of a fresh effort to prevent a wave of foreclosures.
MBIA lances structured finance from municipal business
Monoline insurer MBIA has split itself into two, creating a new business focused solely on US public finance bond insurance while siphoning off its festering structured product commitments into a separate legal entity.
FSA names chief operating officer
Mark Norris has joined the UK Financial Services Authority as chief operating officer.
Pensions before dividends, UK regulator orders
The UK Pensions Regulator has warned companies they should not continue paying shareholder dividends at the expense of their pension schemes.
SGCIB reshuffles management team to integrate divisions
Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking (SGCIB) has reorganised its management structure as part of a move to integrate its capital markets activities.
CDSs on Irish banks widen further
The cost of credit protection on Irish banks rose steeply this morning as the European Commission warned Ireland's budgetary deficit could widen to 9.5% of GDP by the end of 2009.
Steinberg leaves BNP Paribas
Todd Steinberg, New York-based head of equity and commodity derivatives for the Americas at BNP Paribas, has resigned from the bank.