Risk magazine
UK government creates £50 billion ABS fund
The UK government outlined further plans today to try to stabilise the economy and encourage banks to lend more.
$20 billion in Tarp aid for Bank of America after Merrill losses
Bank of America will receive a $20 billion cash injection and guarantees on $118 billion of debt in return for carrying through its acquisition of Merrill Lynch at the start of the year.
Citi hit by $8.9 billion Q4 loss, splits company
US banking giant Citi today reported a net loss of $8.9 billion for the fourth quarter and a $18.7 billion loss for the whole of 2008. The bank will now be split into two entities.
Euro Libor falls on ECB rate cut
Three month euro Libor dropped 20bp over the week to 2.45% today from 2.65% on Monday, January 12, following Thursday's 0.5% cut in interest rates by the European Central Bank, while sterling and dollar Libor remained stable.
CDSs tighten on financials and widen on sovereigns
In early European trading spreads on US and European financials tightened, while Middle Eastern and European sovereigns widened.
SG's Johnson relocates to Paris from Seoul
Nick Johnson has left his role as Seoul-based branch manager of SG Securities, Société Générale's South Korean branch, to become Europe head of the bank's new security and anti-fraud (Safe) department in Paris.
Sifma approves plan to unfreeze $200bn of CMOs
A plan to re-inject liquidity into into the collateralised mortgage obligation (CMO) market will go into action later this month after being approved by a major US industry association.
JP Morgan Q4 net income plunges 74%
JP Morgan remained in the black in the fourth quarter of 2008, but its profits dropped sharply to $702 million after significant losses on leveraged loan and mortgage exposure.
G-30: large banks may be too big to trade
Large banks could be restricted from risky prop trading for their own good, suggests a Group of Thirty (G-30) report issued today.
CDSs widen on Australia and tighten on financials
Spreads on Australian financials and Asian telecommunication companies widened in European trading this morning, while banks were trading tighter in the US and Europe.
Browne moves from RBC to CIBC
Darcy Browne, previously RBC's head of North American institutional forex sales, has moved to CIBC as head of institutional forex sales.
RBS combines CDO/CLO business with MBS/ABS division in Asia
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has combined its Asian collateralised debt obligation and collateralised loan obligation business with the mortgage-backed/asset-backed securities (MBS/ABS) product business under Byron Holmes, Tokyo-based head of Asia…
Ecuador recovery set at 31.375% in first sovereign CDS auction
The recovery rate for government bonds issued by the Republic of Ecuador was set at 31.375% today, in an auction to cash-settle sovereign credit default swap (CDS) contracts linked to the country's debt.
FCStone buys Australian risk management firm
US commodity risk management firm FCStone Group has bought the risk management arm of Australian rural services provider Elders for an undisclosed sum.
Deutsche Bank expects €4.8 billion Q4 loss
Deutsche Bank announced on Wednesday it anticipates a €4.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2008, which would mean a full-year loss of €3.9 billion.
Standard Chartered chairman joins UK government
Standard Chartered's non-executive chairman, Mervyn Davies, has stepped down to join the UK government as minister for trade promotion and investment.
CDSs on eurozone sovereigns widen
The cost of credit protection on eurozone sovereigns widened in European trading this morning, while in the US, spreads on Citi ballooned.
SGX appoints Foo head of operations
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has appointed Benjamin Foo as head of operations.
TriOptima CDS tear-ups cut risk by $30.2 trillion
Stockholm-headquartered technology company TriOptima has reported that its portfolio compression service, triReduce, eliminated $30.2 trillion in notional principal from the credit default swap (CDS) market in 2008.
Liffe prepares for CDS clearing launch in US
London-based derivatives exchange Liffe, which launched its joint central clearing solution with LCH.Clearnet for credit default swaps (CDSs) in Europe on December 22, will roll out the service to US customers in the next few weeks.
Libor forecast to lose status as key benchmark
Libor's days as a key benchmark for a variety of derivatives and as a measure of interbank lending rates may be numbered, a leading interest rates strategist has suggested.
UniCredit names head quant
Dong Qu has joined UniCredit in Milan as global head of quants.
Lehman EM head reappears at Standard Chartered
Mohammed Grimeh, former global head of emerging markets at collapsed dealer Lehman Brothers, has been appointed as head of trading and deputy head of global markets for the Americas at Standard Chartered.
CDSs on European banks widen
The cost of credit protection on European financials and southeast Asian sovereigns widened in early trading today.