Risk magazine
CDS spreads widen on financials
Market sentiment towards financials has worsened over the past week, with the cost of credit protection rising on US and European banks.
IAIS confirms ambition to develop global Solvency II standard
At least 17 national insurance supervisors have signed on to plans for an internationally harmonised regulatory insurance standard similar to Solvency II, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has confirmed.
Isda declares first Small Bang restructuring credit event
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (Isda) declared the first restructuring credit event to be settled under its Small Bang Protocol on August 12.
US regulators told to expand stress-test programme
The US Treasury should expand its bank holding company stress-testing programme to include smaller firms, the Congressional Oversight Panel said on August 11.
DTCC and Markit ready for MarkitServ launch
London-based data provider Markit and the New York-based Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) are ready to launch MarkitServ - a joint venture to provide trade-processing services to the over-the-counter derivatives markets.
Amaranth fined $7.5m for market manipulation and misrepresentation
Connecticut-based hedge fund Amaranth will pay a $7.5 million civil fine to settle charges of attempted manipulation of the price of natural gas futures and subsequent misrepresentation to the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex).
Inflation outlook volatile, BoE warns
UK inflation will be “unusually volatile” in the coming months and could fall below 1% in the autumn, the Bank of England said in its quarterly inflation report today.
Bleak prospects for monolines
Mixed second-quarter results for monoline insurers have raised fresh worries about their future prospects.
New head of Asian equities trading at Citi
Joseph Chang has joined Citi Global Markets, the brokerage and securities arm of Citigroup, as head of Asian equities trading, excluding Australia and Japan.
Treasury gets bank assistance with warrant auction
The US Treasury has recruited at least one major bank to assist it with auctioning off warrants outstanding under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (Tarp), sources close to the situation told Risk .
SEC to set up specialised detection units
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will set up five specialised units to detect financial criminals more efficiently, following criticisms its examiners are not equipped to deal with complex financial cases.
UBS reinforces FICC division
UBS has hired 17 people for its fixed-income, currency and commodities (FICC) division, which has been a main contributor to the bank's losses in recent quarters.
New COO of Asia global finance and risk solutions at BarCap
Hans Fuchs has been promoted to the newly created position of chief operating officer for Barclays Capital's Asian global finance and risk solutions group.
US legislation for OTC derivatives market published
The US Treasury has published draft legislation detailing its plans to fully regulate over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets and mandate central clearing for all standardised bilaterally negotiated contracts.
NYSE Liffe shuts down CDS clearing service
Derivatives exchange NYSE Liffe and London-based clearing house LCH.Clearnet have shelved their central clearing service for credit default swaps (CDS), having processed no trades since it was launched in December last year.
Mustier leaves Société Générale after insider-trading investigation
Jean-Pierre Mustier, the former head of Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking (SGCIB), has left the firm after the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) launched an investigation against him for insider trading.
ECB's Gonzalez-Paramo Speaks on QE
At Risk Europe 2009 in Frankfurt, an ECB board member discusses the role of central banks, when markets and monetary policy combine.
First-half loss of £1.04 billion for RBS
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) posted a loss attributable to shareholders of £1.04 billion for the first half of 2009 on a pro forma basis, due to £7.5 billion in impairments charges.
Bank CDSs hit by poor results
Market sentiment towards financials has been varied in the past week as more second-quarter bank results were announced.
Momentum gathers for central trade repository
Legislators and industry participants are pushing forward with plans to create a central trade repository to hold records of over-the-counter derivatives transactions as a means of increasing transparency and reducing counterparty risk.
Lockhart steps down from FHFA
Edward DeMarco has been appointed acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in Washington, DC, taking over from James Lockhart, who announced his resignation yesterday.
Derivatives exchange volumes still declining
Derivatives trading volumes continued to fall across several leading exchanges in July.
Governments must develop exit strategies, BIS warns
Governments need to plan how they will halt rescue measures introduced during the financial crisis, and ought to pull out as soon as conditions allow, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
BoE allocates extra £50 billion for asset purchases
The Bank of England (BoE) will expand its asset purchase facility, or ‘quantitative easing’, by £50 billion to £175 billion, it said today.