Commerzbank
HVB protection surges on downgrade
The cost of senior credit protection for the five-year debt of Germany's HypoVereinsbank (HVB) has surged nearly 30 basis points this week following a two-notch downgrade of its unsecured deposit and debt rating by Moody’s late on Wednesday.
An operational risk scorecard approach
Operational risk scorecards have been in the spotlight since the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s 2001 paper on op risk treatment under Basel II. In the first of two articles, Ulrich Anders and Michael Sandstedt of Dresdner Bank examine what,…
DrKW adds North Asia structured products marketer
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has hired Yingxin Gong as structured product marketer in its capital markets sales and marketing team in Singapore.
Barclays Capital hires director of forex sales in Asia
Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank, has hired Henry Yeong as director of foreign exchange sales, based in Singapore.
Credit and credibility
Credit risk modellers have made giant strides, but they still have to convince regulators that they can make the world a safer place.
Commerzbank cuts in London
Commerzbank has shed four foreign exchange jobs in London, a source at the bank told RiskNews ' sister publication FX Week . Among the departures was Behnouche Mostachfi, a senior FX options trader, the source confirmed. Another un-named options dealer,…
Spreads widen on Munich Re, Aegon, BA Systems and Fiat
Credit default swap spreads widened this week on Munich Re, Aegon, BAE systems and Fiat. But traders said trading was thin and there was very limited movement in other credit spreads in the European market.
iBoxx licenses indexes for exchange-traded funds
Frankfurt-based indexing company iBoxx and Pennsylvania-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) company iShares have struck a deal to license iBoxx indexes as the basis for European fixed-income ETFs to be launched on Deutsche Börse. The new products are…
HVB downgrade forces spreads wider
The cost of five-year senior protection for HypoVereinsbank (HVB) widened by more than 10 basis points to 95/115bp yesterday after rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the German bank. The downgrade, along with another negative report on bank risk…
Negative rating actions prompt little movement in credit spreads
The European credit derivatives market remained listless this week, with limited movement in protection cost spreads following a string of negative credit news, traders said. The cost of credit protection for German banks, UK bank Barclays and Spain’s…
Credit protection for German financial institutions remains stable
The cost of credit protection for German financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank and insurer Allianz, remained relatively stable today, despite negative rating outlook changes from Moody’s.
Algorithmics strengthens European connection
TORONTO - Canadian risk management software company Algorithmics said in October that Denmark-based Danske Bank had licensed its Algo Collateral software system to manage their over-the-counter derivatives and repo-margining activities. An Algorithmics…
Ambac hires Dresdner derivatives dealer
Michael Cush has joined Ambac Financial Services, a financial services subsidiary of Ambac Financial Group, in its interest rate and cross-currency swap team in New York. The hire is in response to increased derivatives activities, an official at Ambac…
C&W protection costs widen 200bp following restructuring talk
The cost of credit protection on debt of UK telecommunications company Cable and Wireless (C&W) has widened by more than 200 basis points since its revealed late Wednesday that it would cut 3,500 jobs, undergo a major restructuring and reassess its off…
Basis trade opportunities decline as default market continues to tighten
The European default swap market continued to tighten substantially across certain sectors this week, correcting the recent dislocation between cash bonds and credit default swaps (CDS).
Credit ratings come into FX focus
Credit ratings are becoming increasingly significant to foreign exchange market players, with downgrades increasing in the current economic downturn, market participants told RiskNews ' sister publication FX Week .
Deutsche Bank credit protection trades wider following Q3 losses
The cost of senior debt protection for Deutsche Bank has crept 5 basis points wider to 58bp-mid after the bank posted a third-quarter net loss of €299 million. In otherwise thin markets, credit derivatives traders in London said active buyers of…
LSE launches covered warrants trading
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) launched its covered warrants market this morning, giving UK private investors direct access to equity hedging tools.
HypoVereinsbank protection costs widen after poor Q3 results
Poor third-quarter results released by HypoVereinsbank on Wednesday prompted the cost of credit protection for the German banking group’s senior, five-year debt to widen 30 basis points to 140/165bp by trading mid-session today. HypoVereinsbank’s net…
Equities rally brings in cost of US and European debt protection
A strong rebound in world equity markets during the early part of this week has caused the cost of credit protection on US and European institutions to markedly narrow. The contraction in credit spreads this week nearly matched the widening seen last…
International banks step-up German fixed-income derivatives coverage
Deregulation of the German insurance market is attracting the world's top investment banks to expand fixed-income derivatives operations in Frankfurt.
Protection spreads on European bank debt begin to narrow
The cost of credit protection for European banks started to contract this morning following a week of unprecedented spread widening across the sector.
Commerzbank credit protection costs double in a week
The cost of credit protection for Commerzbank has nearly doubled over the last week. The widening follows rumours of large credit derivatives trading losses at the German bank and a cut in its long-term credit rating from A to A- yesterday from Standard …
Credit spreads for European financial debt protection widen
The cost of credit protection for European banks has widened significantly this week as negative fundamentals dominated market sentiment. Five-year credit default swaps for major European banks widened between 1 to 10 basis points for senior protection…