News
Rogue trader Rusnak receives prison sentence
John Rusnak, the former Allied Irish Banks (AIB) trader responsible for $691 million in fraudulent losses related to yen-dollar currency forwards, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
Entergy Koch enters Spanish power market
US energy trader Entergy Koch Trading (EKT) has started to trade derivatives in the Spanish power market. The move will enhance EKT’s cross-commodity capabilities across power and weather, and will add to cross-border trading activities, an EKT…
Telco bond issues spark flurry of activity in credit markets
The €5.5 billion new bond issue by France Telecom on Wednesday followed by a smaller €500 million issue by Deutsche Telekom, yesterday, sparked a flurry of activity in the European credit markets.
Crosbie says departure from Moody’s KMV was amicable
Peter Crosbie, outgoing president and chief executive of Moody’s KMV, said his decision to leave the credit risk management company formed when Moody’s bought KMV last year was amicable.
Schroders to enter HK retail hedge fund market
Schroders Investment Management plans to launch its flagship fund of hedge funds products in Hong Kong, says Nicholas Chalmers, associate director in the alternative investment group at Schroders in Hong Kong. The move follows regulatory changes last May…
BNP to launch European power trading desk
BNP Paribas today said it plans to start a European powertrading desk as part of its energy and commodity business.
FDIC plans series of Basel papers
The US-based Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has announced plans to issue a series of papers over the coming months that will analyse the impact that the revisions to the Basel II Accord will have on the US banking system.
Hedge funds provide poor stress-testing disclosure, says Iafe
Hedge funds offer poor stress-testing results and ‘greeks’ disclosure to third parties, according to a new survey by the International Association of Financial Engineers (Iafe).
Dairy futures take off as CME sees record performance
The market for milk futures and options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has set open interest records over the past two days, reaching 7,805 positions on January 15. This month, an average of 1,000 contracts a day have far surpassed average…
Zelengora licenses Javelin’s FixBox
London-based hedge fund Zelengora Capital Management is due to roll out Javelin Technologies’ FixBox product this month, which will allow the convertible arbitrage fund to send and receive trade instructions and confirmations via an Excel spreadsheet.
Icap signs BrokerTec purchase agreement
UK inter-dealer broker Icap has reached an agreement to buy the electronic cash bond and repo trading business units of BrokerTec for up to £181 million. But the deal is still pending clearance by the US Department of Justice, which Icap expects will…
Pension scheme re-alignment has no impact on financial risk, says actuary chief
The discontinuation of final salary pension schemes for employees will not, as many companies assert, reduce financial risk, according to Ronald Bowie, chairman of the pensions board of the UK Faculty and Institute of Actuaries.
Italian government spreads widen on ratings change
Italian bond spreads widened nearly two basis points against the euro swaps curve, following yesterday's announcement by credit agency Standard & Poor’s that it has revised its ratings outlook on the country from stable to negative. By the end of the day…
Goldman may see raft of risk deal-flow from Sumitomo stake
Goldman Sachs may see a significnant increase in structured finance deals and other risk transfer activity following its ¥150 billion ($1.27 billion) investment in Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
New supervisory rules trigger alarm in Japanese banking system
The impact of a rigorous new Japanese bank inspection system is causing alarm at the country's banks, with many scrambling to shore-up fragile financial reserves ahead of its implementation in the next couple of months.
Regulators focusing on clearing and settlement risks, says Tower
Business continuity issues involved in the clearing and settlement process are becoming a focal point for regulators, according to a new report published by US consultancy, Tower Group.
IASB oprisk project shifted to new working group
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the global accounting rules organisation based in London, released information on proposed changes to its risk disclosure standards in International Accounting Standard 32 (IAS 32) in December, after…
Regulators drive op risk innovation, says Meridien
Banks will need to step up their efforts to comply with the operational risk components of the revisions to the Basel Accords, says a new report from Meridien Research, a consultancy based in Massachusetts.
ABS market continues to grow despite volatility, says Moody's
Issuance in the US asset-backed securities (ABS) market reached $400 billion last year, with the market growing on average 26% annually since 1986, according to a new report issued by rating agency Moody’s Investors Services.
Ice opens doors to futures exchange traders
Atlanta-based commodities exchange IntercontinentalExchange (Ice) has received approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) permitting registered traders and locals with floor or electronic trading privileges on any regulated US…
New supervisory rules trigger alarm in Japanese banking system
The impact of a rigorous new Japanese bank inspection system is causing alarm at the country's banks, with many scrambling to shore-up fragile financial reserves ahead of its implementation in the next couple of months.
Westpac launches CDO of CDOs
Australian bank Westpac has closed a $1.25 billion synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) backed by a pool of structured finance transactions. The deal, arranged by JP Morgan Chase, is thought to be the first such structure issued in Asia-Pacific.
European credit default swaps tightening lags cash market
Spread tightening continued across the European credit derivatives market this week, driven by increasingly positive sentiment towards credit risk. But traders noted that credit default swap spread tightening lagged the cash market.
Reflated economy must be Japan’s priority, claims Moody’s
The outlook for Japanese sovereign debt would improve if the Bank of Japan (BoJ) took measures to reflate the economy, according to rating agency Moody's Investors Service. As the BoJ decides on a new governor to replace outgoing Masaru Hayami in March,…