Japan
Commodity CCPs buck trend with IM breaches in Q1
Precious metals and energy clearing units stand out, as most CCPs avoid breach surge despite Iran war turmoil
Iran war drives record CCP margin calls
NSCC, CCIL and CME among clearing houses reporting peak VM and IM calls in Q1
Ice sets up four-way race for Japan’s Tona futures
London joins Osaka, Tokyo and Singapore exchanges in battle for yen rates contracts
China leads global banks’ LCR retreat in 2025
Twenty-one of 29 G-Sibs reported lower liquidity ratios than the previous year
Dollar smiles again, but for how long?
Twitchy investors backed the buck during Iran war, but experts are divided on whether this marks a return of the dollar smile
Risk management is key in this unpredictable environment
With energy markets upended by crisis after crisis, the best strategy is always to be hedged against extremes
IM concentration at CCPs hits multi-year high in Q4
Median tops 52% for first time since 2021 as average reaches record
US G-Sibs ease off TLAC build as buffers plateau
Loss-absorbing buffers edged lower across most major banks at end-2025
JGB sell-off drives late-2025 record markdowns at Japanese banks
Unrealised losses on Japanese government bonds hit ¥7.05 trillion
Asian banks close out energy clients as Iran war bites
Firms with short jet fuel positions faced losses up to $100 million as initial margin soared 566%
The dollar do-si-do: hedgers review FX moves
Brief return of US dollar to safe-haven status amid Iran upheaval prompts real money investors to pause hedging activity
Russell’s flexi hedging aims to tame jumpy yen
Japanese clients can dynamically switch hedging profile based on USD/JPY movements
JGB basis trade throws off the shackles
Japan’s cash-futures arbitrage on the rise despite Iran volatility and BoJ-driven bond scarcity
YCC, carry trades and the changing role of the yen
Marcello Minenna argues that as the BoJ adjusts its policy regime, changes in carry positioning are increasing the instability of the correlation between exchange rates and yield differentials
For collateral, can TINA become TIA?
US Treasuries’ dominance as collateral in repo and derivatives is no longer set in stone, argues economist
JSCC considers default fund consolidation
Japanese clearing house looks for efficiency gains amid expansion of clearing products and influx of international firms
China-led pullback drags Apac cross-border credit lower
Emerging Asia posts $46bn outflow as other EMDE regions expand
Nomura’s new global markets strategy: less risk, more return
Japan’s top dealer is moving away from risk warehousing, chasing real money clients and going global
Norinchukin most exposed to rate rises on EVE among Japanese banks
Parallel upward shock would reduce bank’s EVE by almost 30% of Tier 1 capital
What the Tokyo data cornucopia reveals about market impact
New research confirms universality of one of the most non-intuitive concepts in quant finance
Collateral velocity is disappearing behind a digital curtain
Dealers may welcome digital-era rewiring to free up collateral movement, but tokenisation will obscure metrics
Chinese banks narrow gap to US on systemic risk
Smallest ever distance between two countries in FSB assessment after China surges 160bp
Japan’s yen swaps go global
JSCC isn’t just clearing swaps, it is clearing the way for the next stage of Japan’s financial evolution
Hedge funds cut BoJ bets after torrid year in yen rates
Dealers see lighter positioning after shock October election saw more than $300m of losses, compounding April’s pain