Risk magazine
Executive pay reviewed at Barclays, UBS and Goldman
Barclays, UBS and Goldman Sachs have announced moves to halt bonus payouts for top executives in 2008, as huge subprime losses and writedowns have placed compensation policies under increased scrutiny.
Forex specialists predict consolidation
Foreign exchange markets will experience further consolidation in 2009, while larger banks will continue to dominate algorithmic trading, according to a panel of industry experts speaking at the FX Week Europe conference in London yesterday.
Forex experts: no need for central clearing house
The foreign exchange markets are unlikely to follow the credit default swaps (CDS) market by establishing central counterparties in the near future.
Interbank confidence continues to rise
The perceived level of counterparty risk in the market continued to fall today, shown by a drop in the Ted spread and Libor.
Eurozone and US bank CDS spreads widen
UK and European financial institutions faced declining market sentiment in early trading today, while the cost of credit protection on US banks continued to rise.
Korean banks to share info on FX derivatives
South Korea's markets regulator, in conjunction with the country's leading banking association, has set up a database that allows banks to share information on the use of financial products by their clients, including exporters.
FX volumes 'set to drop in 2009'
Volumes traded in the foreign exchange markets are likely to drop next year as hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds reduce their activities, Paul Fisher, the Bank of England's head of foreign exchange and reserves management, predicted today.
HSBC terminates swaps in Lehman Bros minibonds
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) says HSBC Institutional Trust Services, the trustee of Lehman Brothers' defaulted minibond notes programme, has terminated the swaps that back series 1 to 8 of the programme, to remove the risk of credit events…
UK CDSs still wide
UK and European financial institutions continued to face mixed market sentiment in early trading today, while the cost of credit protection on US banks began to rise.
Dollar Libor falls further
Interbank lending confidence rose today, marked by a 0.17 percentage point fall in three-month dollar Libor.
Rabobank appoints renewables and carbon credit head in Asia
Rabobank International has promoted Jotdeep Singh to a newly created role as head of its renewable energy and carbon credits business in Asia. Based in Singapore, he will oversee transactions mainly in wind energy, biomass, solar and other renewables,…
CDS clearing house to miss November 30 deadline
The November 30 target for central clearing of index credit default swap (CDS) trades set by a consortium of industry associations and investment banks is unlikely to be met, sources within the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have said.
G-20 backs derivatives reform
The Group of 20, which contains the world's leading developed and emerging economies, backed derivatives reform proposals in a summit hosted by US president George Bush in Washington, DC on Saturday, November 15.
G-20 proposals fail to lift interbank confidence
The proposals of world leaders to stabilise financial markets had little significant impact on the interbank market, with the Ted spread and Libor figures remaining at similar levels to before the weekend.
CDS spreads unstable on eurozone banks
UK and European banks faced mixed market sentiment in early trading today, while the cost of credit protection on US financial institutions had fallen by the end of last week.
Freddie Mac posts heavy losses in Q3
Battered by the ailing residential real estate market, Freddie Mac reported a $25.3 billion loss in the third quarter of 2008 and requested a $13.8 billion capital injection from the US Treasury.
Dollar Libor and Ted climb again
Dollar Libor and the Ted spread, which tracks the difference between three-month dollar Libor and Treasury bills, were up today as confidence in the US interbank lending market dipped again.
Business leaders want a tighter rein on banks
Tighter regulations on banks, hedge funds and rating agencies would be supported by most business leaders around the world, a survey found this week.
CDS spreads widen on UK banks
The cost of credit protection on UK banks continued to increase today, while US and European financial institutions faced mixed market sentiment.
Outstanding notional on CDSs drops for first time
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today released statistics for the over-the-counter derivatives market, which revealed that, although the overall market continues to grow, the outstanding notional on credit default swaps has declined.
Investors hope end in sight for Canadian ABCP restructuring
Retail investors in distressed Canadian non-bank asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) expect to find out in the next two weeks whether further delays are expected to a restructuring plan.
Markit names risk management head
London-based data provider Markit has appointed Sal Naro as global co-head of equities, commodities and risk management.
Dollar Libor up after Tarp priorities change
Dollar Libor was up today following US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson's admission yesterday that the Troubled Asset Relief Programme (Tarp) will not be used to buy illiquid mortgage-backed securities.
European and US CDS spreads widen
The cost of credit protection on European banks continued to increase in early trading today, as market sentiment towards US financial institutions began to decline.