Risk magazine
Regulators take aim at unrealised derivatives profits
Accounting changes promoting more fair-value reporting are forcing supervisors to consider radical restrictions on the way banks use profits.
Interview with Vladimir Piterbarg
Vladimir Piterbarg talks about his new article published in the Cutting Edge section of Risk magazine
Counterparty charge an act too far?
The Basel Committee shocked many bankers in December by unleashing proposals to significantly increase capital requirements for counterparty risk exposures. But industry participants argue the measures overlap with each other and could hike up capital to…
Unrealised gains out of their hands
Some regulators have suggested profits based on uncertain valuations of complex products should not be allowed to flow into earnings and be distributed in the form of dividends and bonuses – a move that potentially has massive implications for the…
Paying by the rules
As the US Treasury’s special master for executive compensation, Kenneth Feinberg has the task of overseeing pay for the top 100 employees at firms receiving exceptional government aid. In an exclusive interview, he discusses progress on pay reform,…
Commodity rankings 2010: Energy
The 2010 Risk/Energy Risk commodity rankings reveal which companies have been able to prosper despite the difficult conditions of 2009. Lianna Brinded analyses the results and talks to key market participants about their views
Commodity rankings 2010: Metals
HSBC topped the precious metals categories of this year’s commodity rankings, swapping places with runner-up and last year’s winner UBS in a gold-dominated 12 months. Société Générale maintained its dominance in base metals, while Goldman Sachs climbed…
Copenhagen or bust
Carbon trading volumes boomed in 2009, but price declines meant the total value of trades was down modestly. Following the disappointing Copenhagen summit, what hope is there for new life in the carbon markets? Peter Madigan reports
To be clear on OTC regulation
The US House of Representatives passed a bill on December 11 requiring all standardised derivatives contracts traded between dealers and major swap participants to clear through a registered clearing organisation. The Senate is preparing to debate its…
Return to variance?
Banks and investors were hammered on short single-stock variance positions during the crisis, causing many dealers to pull back from the variance swap market altogether. Instead, some have been pushing volatility swaps as an alternative, but not everyone…