News
Basel regulators still hoping for 2005 date
The Basel II bank capital adequacy Accord could still come into effect by 2005, although the date does hang in the balance, international regulatory sources said.
IRC increases drive for hedge fund disclosure
The Investor Risk Committee (IRC), part of the International Association of Financial Engineers (IAFE), has added three members to its steering group, in a move to increase its work on encouraging hedge fund disclosure and transparency.
BofA names global head of forex trading
Bank of America (BofA) has hired Larry Baum to manage its global spot, forwards and proprietary foreign exchange trading business. The post has been vacant since December, when Richard Breslow, former global head of forex trading, left after more than…
DrKW hires global equities director in Tokyo
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has hired Hiroyuki Uno as director and senior marketer of global equities in Tokyo. He will head a team of derivatives marketers that will primarily focus on marketing equity derivatives products to financial…
Icap looks to buy First Broker Securities
Icap, the world's largest inter-dealer broker, is in discussions to buy First Broker Securities, the New York-based interdealer broker specialising in US-denominated corporate debt and high-yield bonds, according to an Icap spokesman.
HSBC to bolster Asian structured derivatives operation
HSBC is to expand its structured derivatives team in Asia in an attempt to leverage off its interest rate and currency swaps business.
Two new board members for CBOE
Craig Messinger, executive vice president of Boston-based Fidelity Capital Markets, and Thomas Patrick, a managing director at Merrill Lynch, have been appointed to the board of directors of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). They replace two…
RMS offers indexes for structuring weather derivatives
Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a California-based weather risk software and data firm, has started publishing regional weather indexes for the US on its website, www.climetrix.com. The indexes provide the weather derivatives market with a new benchmark…
BHP Billiton buys into weatherXchange
Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton has bought a 7.5% stake in weatherXchange, an online weather derivatives data service, set up by the UK’s Meteorological Office and London-based Umbrella Brokers in June last year. BHP Billiton has an option to…
Bank of America to roll out derivatives system
Bank of America (BofA) is building a new derivatives trading platform called Advantage, which will be deployed in its Chicago, London, and Tokyo offices. It is also developing new trading floors in London’s Canary Wharf, New York, and Charlotte, North…
Electricity transmission changes fall by $10 billion, says study
Proposed changes to the US electricity transmission sector could save customers up to $10 billion per year, according to a study commissioned by the US federal energy regulator.
BNP Paribas begins issuing synthetic CDOs in Asia
French bank BNP Paribas plans to start issuing arbitrage synthetic collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) for the first time in Asia, ex-Japan, according to a Hong Kong-based official.
Aquila and Gensec offer weather derivatives in South Africa
Energy company Aquila and Gensec Bank have signed an alliance to market weather derivatives in South Africa. They will be the first weather products to be marketed in that country.
Swiss Re strikes $150 million contingent capital deal
Swiss Re, the Zurich-based reinsurer, has closed a $150 million contingent capital deal with MBIA, the world’s largest financial guarantor, based in Armonk, New York. The deal closed on December 27, but its details have been closely guarded until now.
Egar adds options component to equity derivatives suite
Egar Technology, the New York-based supplier of trading and risk management systems, whose best-known client is Canada's CIBC, has released a real-time equity options trading and risk management service developed for market makers.