News
AIB appoints 'special' risk management adviser
Allied Irish Banks has appointed a 'special adviser' on risk management in the wake of fraud investigations into its US subsidiary Allfirst, which lost almost $700 million in currency trading.
Dresdner hires new director in hedge fund sales group
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein has hired Jean Pierre Engele as a director in its equity hedge fund sales team.
SFE appoints market makers for options
The Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) has appointed two official market makers for its SPI 200 options contract in an attempt to enhance the liquidity of the exchange-traded options market.
CDC Ixis hires two ex-Gen Re staff
CDC Ixis Capital Markets has hired two ex-Gen Re staff to its structured derivatives and derivatives marketing teams.
HKEx to delist forex futures
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) will delist its one-day rolling currency futures contracts for euro, yen and sterling on May 21.
Tokio Marine launches TokioWeather
Japan's Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance has launched TokioWeather, the country's first software program that calculates the premium on weather derivatives, according to an official at the insurer in Tokyo.
Fame shake-up under new chief executive officer
Fame Information Services, the New-York based market data vendor, has secured a new investment from majority shareholder, Warburg Pincus, the private equity company. New plans to radically shake up the business have been unveiled by incoming chief…
Iris launches eqTrader
Iris Financial Systems, a provider of trading and risk management systems based in San Francisco, today launched eqTrader, a component-based equity portfolio management system, onto the European market. eqTrader enables portfolio managers to automate…
ABN Amro adds to Asian structured derivatives team
ABN Amro has hired Jamie McWilliam to bolster its structured derivatives team in Hong Kong.
Deutsche launches credit index fund
Deutsche Bank launched the Xavex Dynamic Bond Portfolio Fund today. The new credit fund is index-based and indirectly uses the German bank’s over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk for hedging.
ABN Amro expands FX options team
Dutch investment bank ABN Amro has added three traders to its global foreign exchange options business.
Blackbird completes first FpML trades
Blackbird, the North Carolina-based electronic market-place for over-the-counter interest rate derivatives, has completed the first swap trades on an electronic network using Financial Products Markup Language, or FpML. The deals are the first practical…
Booth to head credit trading at RBS
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired Stewart Booth as head of credit trading for the capital markets division of RBS Financial Markets. Booth will not only run trading for credit derivatives, but also RBS' investment grade and high-yield businesses.
Eurex to offer Stoxx sector futures in US
Eurex, the Swiss-German derivatives exchange, will start offering Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Bank and Dow Jones Euro Stoxx Bank index futures in the US today after receiving the regulatory go-ahead.
Chubb head calls for more chief risk officers
Dean O’Hare, chairman and chief executive of Chubb Corporation, believes companies without a chief risk officer are not handling risk management effectively. Speaking at the Risk & Insurance Management Society’s annual conference in New Orleans today, O…
Cicada creates risk data management group
Cicada, a US market data distribution systems company, has created a new subsidiary, Cicada Risk, to provide risk data management products. The move marks the company’s first foray into the risk management business.
Chaos reigns at new hedge fund
London-based hedge fund manager HED Capital Management is set to launch a new $200 million fund, dubbed the Beaufort Chaos Fund, by June. HED claims its chaos theory-based strategy obviates the need for derivatives.
Banks support European credit master agreement changes
Investment banks have signalled their support for the International Swaps and Derivatives Association's April 5 decision to drop ‘obligation acceleration’ and ‘repudiation/moratorium’ as credit events for standard default swap transactions in Europe.
Rates Markets Update: US swaps widen on Middle East fears
The US interest rate swaps market broke a trend this week as spreads slowly widened after several weeks of consistent narrowing. Five-year dollar swap spreads widened by 5 basis points to 62bp over Treasuries in the same maturity, while 10-year spreads…
Default levels worst on record, says S&P
The first quarter of 2002 was the worst ever recorded for corporate defaults, said rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P).
Patsystems to recruit new chief executive
Patsystems, the London-based derivatives trading systems vendor, is actively seeking a replacement for chief executive David Jones, according to company sources.
Non-US companies using derivatives shun FAS 133
Although nearly half of the world’s companies that use derivatives have implemented US accounting standard FAS133, or its international equivalent IAS39, there is little interest in compliance by companies based outside the US, according to a research…
UK’s controversial emissions market sees first trades
The UK’s new government-sponsored greenhouse gas emission trading scheme (ETS) has seen its first trades since its launch on February 2. An anonymous deal was traded yesterday between a global oil major and a large industrial company. London-based staff…
HSBC's Asian head of risk management quits
Azam Mistry, HSBC's Asia-Pacific head of risk management, has left the bank, according to an HSBC official in Hong Kong.