The Americas
US blows the floors off Basel III
Barr criticises “downward deviations” in US rule; Bowman rejects “blind adherence” to global standards
Repo stress drove 2025 SOFR-to-fed funds swap pivot
SOFR OIS volumes slipped to almost half of fed funds activity during September repo spikes
How Optimal aims to shake up US retail options trading
New wholesaler has assembled a team of market-makers to compete with Citadel, IMC/Dash and Jane Street
SocGen’s head of US Treasury clearing preparations to depart
Bank’s head of product for FX and fixed income prime brokerage for the Americas set to leave later this month
Itaú Unibanco capital ratio slides ahead of Brazil tax shift
Capital distributions drag CET1 lower as higher RWAs also bite
Real money investors cash in as dispersion nears record levels
Implied spreads were elevated to start 2026. Realised levels have been “almost unprecedented”
JP Morgan gives corporates an FX blockchain boost
Kinexys digital platform speeds cross-currency, cross-entity client payments
Fannie, Freddie mortgage buying unlikely to drive rates
Adding $200 billion of MBSs in a $9 trillion market won’t revive old hedging footprint
How US shutdown set off long-awaited basis bet
Hedge funds dust off a years-in-the-making relative value trade to profit from fallback mismatch
FXSpotStream expands into US Treasuries trading
Bank-owned streaming venue targets mid-year launch, offering “all you can eat” subscription fees
Non-cleared derivatives margining jumps after framework rollout
Margin-to-notional ratio trails early regulatory estimates
Deutsche Bank returns to US swaps client clearing
Re-entry comes after Basel III endgame proposals sparked capacity concerns among global clients
Collateral velocity is disappearing behind a digital curtain
Dealers may welcome digital-era rewiring to free up collateral movement, but tokenisation will obscure metrics
Trump’s LatAm gambit spurs FX hedging rush
Venezuela op boosts risk reversals as investors look to protect carry trades
US insurers turn to short-dated FX forwards as notionals rise
Counterparty Radar: Trades under three months make up nearly 60% of total positions, up from just a third in 2022
Who is Selig? CFTC pick is smart and social, but some say too green
Colleagues praise crypto smarts and collegial style, but views on prediction markets and funding trouble Senate
Equity derivatives house of the year: JP Morgan
Risk Awards 2026: Volatility strategies and technology investment help realise hyper scale-up
LSEG adds market risk optimisation for FX options
Tool attracts eight dealers and could be expanded to rates and equity options
Tomorrow’s Quants: what it takes to be a next-gen modeller
Employers increasingly prize mix of hard and soft skills, Risk.net survey reveals
Dealers prep for year-end equity financing surge
Cost of funding equity derivatives bets blew out to 227bp in 2024 and is ticking higher again
Pimco piled into euro put options in Q2
Counterparty Radar: EUR/USD buying spree takes Pimco’s FX options book to $7 billion