Asia Risk’s 10th annual awards 2009

- By Christopher Jeffery
- 26 Oct 2009

It’s been a year of extremes. The near-collapse of AIG and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 sent already-troubled markets into spin as trust in the entire financial system came at a severe premium. And it stayed that way until March this year, when equity and credit markets rallied to the point where, two quarters later, if seems as if some of the dark days at the end of last year never happened.

The Asia Risk awards were introduced to recognise excellence in financial risk management and derivatives. And they have now done this for the past decade. So, perhaps it is fitting that on the 10th anniversary of the awards, the institutions that came through this year’s review process to win the Asia Risk awards for 2009 all possessed an important common strength: they stood firm in the face of adversity and helped clients facing acute risk management challenges at the time of their greatest need.

There can be no truer test of a financial institution’s own risk management capabilities than to support clients at such a time of extreme stress. It remains to be seen whether clients themselves will reward these institutions for their consistency. As memories fade and the focus switches towards the upside, it will be fascinating to see how quickly counterparties shift their business to the latest new entrant trying to gain market share in the months ahead.

There are already signs of a shift of trades to dealers that are trying to regain their positions in the derivatives markets. But with a positive market outlook far from certain, customers might want to exert a degree of caution before abandoning their financial sanctuaries.

Contributors to the 2009 awards: Wietske Blees, Toby Garrod, Christopher Jeffery, Georgina Lee, Ben Marquand, Joe Marsh, William Rhode, Sarfraz Thind and Harry Thompson

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