France
Callable repack frenzy opens up new options market in Europe
Demand driven mainly by French life insurers looking for alternatives to low-yielding sovereign bonds
People moves: new CRO at LCH, changes at Natixis investment bank, and more
Latest job changes across the industry
Synthetic risk transfer plumps SocGen’s capital buffer
Risk transfer and CET1 relief smooth out add-on for model risk at the French bank
Covid hikes BNP Paribas’ cost of risk to decade high
Loan-loss provisions for 2020 totalled €5.7 billion
People news: Yarian leaves HSBC, Goldman’s Lemkau joins MSD Partners, and more
Latest job changes across the industry
French rivals BPCE, SocGen see market risks fall in Q3
Market RWAs drop 24% at SocGen quarter on quarter
BNP Paribas’ RWAs shrank over €10bn in Q3
CET1 ratio climbed 20bp to 12.6%
One-fifth of SocGen’s securitisations have STS label
French bank held €7 billion of simple, transparent, standardised securitisations as of end-June
SocGen’s Marc Saffon appointed Japan head of markets
Saffon replaces Arnaud Lhoste who returns to Europe
Custodian of the year: BNP Paribas
Asia Risk Awards 2020
Power surge: the value of investing in renewables
Energy market expert investigates ways to forecast future power prices and capture rates in order to value renewables PPAs
Equity hedges bolstered Axa through Covid crisis
Economic hedges contributed €425 million to H1 income
A bridge too far: EBA swap stay to spur mass repapering?
Industry scrambles to avoid duplicating BRRD close-out contract changes across four jurisdictions
Axa’s solvency ratio continues fall in Q2
French insurer’s core ratio has dropped 18 percentage points year-to-date
SocGen mulls sale of structured product books after big losses
Rival Natixis also plans to place parts of its equity derivatives business in run-off mode
BPCE’s capital ratio falls as it waits on Covid loan relief
Delay to state guarantee benefits took 32bp off of CET1 ratio
Eurex passes volatility test with flying colours
Eurex explores how Covid‑19 volatility across the industry has tested market participants’ resilience, and how the central counterparty itself has proved its credentials as a reliable and sustainable euro liquidity pool
Natixis’s market RWAs grew 49% over Q2
Average VAR spiked to €18 million over Q2
SocGen’s VAR jumped 54% in Q2
Credit VAR more than doubled to €43 million
BNP tags €10bn of equity derivatives as hard-to-value
Over 12% of exposures classified as Level 3 at end-June
Global banks’ derivatives assets hit $4.4tn in Q1
Market values leapt 43% over the first three months of the year
SocGen’s digitised bond passes settlement test
Banque de France-backed deal pips private consortiums in dummy run for digital currency trades
Pressure grows on structured products as losses mount
Dividend-related losses at BNP Paribas may be higher than previously reported
Capital overhaul depresses Crédit Agricole’s solvency ratio
Wind down of “Switch” mechanism may have come at a bad time for the French lender