Risk magazine
WEF backs calls for reverse stress tests
"Glaring gaps in risk management" represent one of the biggest dangers facing the world in 2009, and financial institutions must improve their modelling and testing as a matter of urgency, according to a World Economic Forum report launched today.
New financial regulation research centre launches
The International Centre for Financial Regulation (ICFR), an independent global research institute focused entirely on financial regulation, launched today in London.
Asset price crashes could continue this year, says World Economic Forum
There is still a significant risk of asset prices falling through 2009, according to the World Economic Forum's assessment of global economic risks this year, revealed at a press conference today in London.
Craddock named as Oppenheimer's new risk head
Oppenheimer Funds, based in New York, has named Geoffrey Craddock as director of risk management and asset allocation.
CDSs tighten on insurers
The cost of credit protection on insurance firms continued to fall in early trading today, while spreads widened on eastern European sovereigns.
UniCredit appoints chief risk officer
Italian banking group UniCredit has named Karl Guha as chief risk officer.
Fed offers $150 billion to banks via TAF
The Federal Reserve announced it would offer $150 billion in 28-day discount-rate loans via its term auction facility (TAF) today; the auction will settle on January 15.
JP Morgan wins Risk's derivatives house of the year award
JP Morgan has won Risk magazine's derivatives house of the year award for the second successive year. In a 12-month period that saw the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, unprecedented volatility in the market and capital injections into…
S&P creates ombudsman role
In an effort to "strengthen its ratings process, increase transparency and better serve capital markets", rating agency Standard & Poor's has appointed Ray Groves to the newly created position of ombudsman, effective February 16.
Merrill loses investment banking head
Merrill Lynch's former head of investment banking, Gregory Fleming, has left the bank, less than two weeks after its acquisition by Bank of America was completed.
Sterling Libor falls after rate cut
The cost of interbank borrowing declined throughout the week, with sterling Libor reacting immediately to the Bank of England's decision to cut interest rates to a historic low of 1.5%.
CDSs tighten on insurance and pharmaceutical firms
The cost of credit protection on insurance and pharmaceutical firms fell in early trading today, while spreads on financials and Scandinavian sovereigns widened.
Weinstein leaves Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank's New York-based co-head of global credit trading, Boaz Weinstein, will leave the bank in the second quarter to set up a hedge fund.
Daiwa announces new structured products head
Japanese investment bank Daiwa SMBC has announced the appointment of Martial Rouyère to the new position of head of retail structured products, based in London.
Bank CDSs drop to pre-Lehman levels
The cost of credit protection on a number of US and European financial institutions has returned to levels recorded prior to the collapse of Lehman Brothers on September 15.
Dugan: more US banks will fail in 2009
In an exclusive interview with Risk , John Dugan, the US Comptroller of the Currency, said he expected more US banks to topple in the year ahead.
Stress tests were ignored in lead-up to crisis, Basel risk head says
Banks around the world ignored and marginalised the severe stress tests that could have prepared them for the crisis, according to Klaas Knot, the head of the Basel Committee's risk monitoring and management group.
NCDEX launches gold and silver contracts
India's second largest commodity exchange, the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), added gold and silver futures contracts to its portfolio at the end of December 2008. According to the exchange, the contracts were launched in response…
Chief risk officer at Anglo Irish Bank resigns
William McAteer, the chief risk officer and finance director at Anglo Irish Bank, became the latest senior figure to tender his resignation at the troubled Dublin-based firm on Wednesday (January 7).
Fed expands MMIFF
The Federal Reserve has expanded its Money Market Investor Funding Facility (MMIFF) to include a wider range of money-market investors.
New board for European Primary Dealers Association
Stanislas de Caumont of Credit Suisse and Gunter Fluyt of ING will co-chair the new executive board of the European Primary Dealers Association (EPDA).
Charges recommended for securities settlement failures
US Treasuries dealers should start imposing penalty charges on counterparties that fail to deliver securities on time, an industry group has recommended.
$428bn of Tarp funds to be exhausted by end of year
This year the US government will distribute $180 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp) on top of the $248 billion it gave to financial institutions in 2008, the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted yesterday.
CDSs tighten on automakers, sovereigns
The cost of credit protection on automakers fell in early trading today, despite dramatic drops in December sales figures.