Risk magazine
Credit Suisse’s Abbasi moves to Asia
Credit Suisse has promoted its head of European securities structured derivative sales, Osama Abbasi, to head global securities for non-Japan Asia and Australia.
New chairman and CEO for UBS Investment Bank
Jerker Johansson has been appointed chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of UBS’s investment bank division. He will also join the group executive board. He will be based in London and take up his new position from March 17.
BNP Paribas appoints commodity derivatives head in Asia
Frederic Hervouet has been appointed head of commodity investor derivatives for Asia at BNP Paribas, reporting to Lionel Semonin, global head of commodity investor derivatives.
Société Générale gets a cash infusion
Société Générale (SG) is the latest of several banks to raise money through the capital markets after suffering multibillion-dollar losses. Unlike several Wall Street banks issuing mandatory convertibles, the French bank will sell stock and give current…
Prudential Fixed Income Management names chief investment officer
Prudential Fixed Income Management, an asset management business of Prudential Financial, has appointed Michael Lillard as chief investment officer (CIO), responsible for overseeing all portfolio management and trading across the firm. Additionally, the…
Credit crisis losses could reach $400 billion
Write-offs of losses on securities linked to US subprime mortgages could reach $400 billion, according to German finance minister Peer Steinbrück, speaking after the recent G-7 meeting in Tokyo.
Project Rainbow to rival European exchanges
A new trading platform - dubbed Project Rainbow - is being developed by a consortium of major derivatives trading houses to compete with Europe’s exchanges, according to a source at a large European bank.
RBC in equity and mutual funds expansion
Franck Morotti has joined RBC Capital Markets as head of equity structured product trading for Europe. The appointment is the first in a series of hires marking the company’s expansion both in equity and mutual fund derivatives.
Investigators step up pressure on rating agencies
Criminal investigators and regulators in the US have increased the pressure on credit rating agencies, saying they were "central" to the subprime crisis.
BoA institutional equities sales head leaves
Dean Curnutt, New York-based head of institutional equity derivatives sales at Bank of America, has left the bank.
CME faces competition questions from DOJ
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has questioned the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's vertical structure, and whether it creates an anti-competitive marketplace. A DOJ letter, dated January 31 and addressed to the US Department of Treasury, argued that the…
S&P promises reforms as regulators ponder ratings oversight
Rating agency Standard & Poor's has revealed a list of planned changes aimed at preventing conflicts of interest and restoring confidence in its ratings, as an international regulators' conference suggested tighter restrictions on rating agencies.
Ex-quant replaces Nagioff as Lehman fixed-income chief
Andrew Morton has been named Lehman Brothers’ new global head of fixed income, following the announcement of Roger Nagioff’s departure on February 5. Nagioff became Lehman’s first global head to be posted outside the US in May 2007.
Surprise over "severe" Fitch CDO cuts
Fitch Ratings has outlined possible changes to its approach to rating collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), with downgrades potentially far deeper than the market expected.
Moody’s: transparency will drive CDO investor comeback
The European collateralised debt obligation (CDO) market's ability to offer transparency to investors will determine the speed of their return to the sector, said Moody’s Investors Service.
Risk linked with Asian banks ‘mispriced’, says RBS
The credit risk associated with Asian banks is being mispriced by the financial markets and the region’s relatively stronger credit outlook, compared with Europe and the US, makes bank debt potentially an attractive investment opportunity, according to…
SGCIB names new derivatives sales chiefs
Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking (SGCIB) named several new senior managers in its global equities and derivatives division today, continuing the reshuffle that started after the discovery of the bank's €4.9 billion rogue-trading losses…
EEX and Eurex to launch CER carbon futures
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) and derivatives exchange Eurex will launch futures on certified emission reduction (CER) carbon credits on EEX on March 26.
Three EU countries face legal action over Mifid
The European Commission (EC) is referring member states the Czech Republic, Poland and Spain to the European Court of Justice over non-implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid).
SG downgrade throws shadow over structured products
The €4.9 billion loss at Société Générale (SG), blamed by the bank on a single rogue trader, has drawn attention to counterparty credit risk within the structured products industry.
CFTC names new global markets chief
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), based in Washington, DC, has appointed Jill Sommers as chairman of its Global Markets Advisory Committee. She takes over from acting chairman Walter Lukken, who has chaired this committee since October…
IACPM names new board
The New York-based International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers (IACPM) has elected Société Générale’s Allan Yarish as its chairman, with Neville Mallard, of ANZ, as his deputy. JP Morgan’s Donald Noe is the new treasurer. Each will hold their…
BNP in trading shake-up
BNP Paribas has moved its global head of interest rate and foreign exchange trading, Guillaume Amblard, to a new position as global head of fixed-income trading.
Credit crisis drives trading in financial CDS
The banking and financial services sectors had the most active trading volumes of credit default swaps (CDS) in the US in January, according to GFI, a New York-based inter-dealer broker.