Risk magazine
Cruz leaves Morgan Stanley, as Chammah and Gorman rise up the ranks
Morgan Stanley announced a management overhaul yesterday, naming Walid Chammah and James Gorman co-presidents of the firm. They will replace Zoe Cruz, who spent 25 years at the firm and was the highest paid woman on Wall Street, and Robert Scully, who…
Moody's lowers UBS rating due to subprime fears
Rating agency Moody's has cut UBS's bank financial strength rating (BSFR) from A- to B+, saying the bank still has more subprime losses to reveal.
German banks take on $520 million in IKB losses
A pool of German banks led by KfW agreed yesterday to take on the $520 million risk associated with Havenrock, one of the vehicles funding IKB's troubled Rhineland investment conduit.
E*Trade’s CEO departs as Citadel injects $2.5bn into the firm
E*Trade’s chief executive, Mitchell Caplan, is the latest high-profile casualty of the US subprime crisis. Jarrett Lilien, the financial services firm’s president, has been named acting chief executive.
S&P to launch three CDS indexes
Standard & Poor’s will launch three US-based credit default swap (CDS) indexes in the first quarter of 2008.
Automated trading to compose 90% of futures by 2010
Pit trading is fading fast. An estimated 50% of all futures markets transactions in 2007 occurred through automated trading strategies – including market-making and quantitative black-box trading activities - and this proportion will rise to 90% by 2010,…
Fraud and incompetence led to subprime crisis, Fitch says
Falling house prices might have triggered the crisis in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) based on US subprime mortgages, but analysts at US rating agency Fitch say the root of the problem was widespread fraud and incompetence in the mortgage…
Houldsworth breaks with Tradition
Robin Houldsworth, chief executive of the interdealer broker Tradition UK, is to leave the company as it merges its UK and European operations.
$3 billion of CPDOs at risk of unwinding
Barclays Capital estimates $3 billion of constant proportion debt obligations (CPDOs) are at imminent risk of being unwound.
CDO shakeout puts spotlight on managers
Unsettled structured credit markets are causing investors to become more scrupulous in their collateralised debt obligation (CDO) manager choices, according to market participants.
Bear Stearns slashes 650 jobs
Bear Stearns will cut 650 jobs before the end of the year as part of the bank’s cost-cutting drive, after heavy subprime mortgage-related losses earlier in the year.
Porsche's derivatives success a mystery
Use of derivatives by German car manufacturer Porsche has resulted in a hike in the firms’ pre-tax earnings, from €2.11 billion last year to €5.86 billion for the year 2006/2007.
Freddie Mac sells $6bn in stock to ward off capital fears
Freddie Mac has announced it will sell $6 billion in preferred stock, in a bid to restore regulator and investor confidence and avoid breaching minimum capital requirements.
Kesselring joins Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley has hired Martin Kesselring as head of investment banking for Switzerland.
BoA hires product innovation head
Bank of America has appointed Cindy Murray as head of product innovation and development for global product solutions, responsible for designing, building and launching new credit and treasury products for the bank's global corporate and investment…
KfW exposure to IKB losses rises to €4.8 billion
German bank KfW has increased its risk provision for the troubled bank IKB, in which it holds a majority stake, after default risk on IKB's Rhineland conduit rose significantly.
Icap appoints David Puth non-executive director
Icap, the interdealer broker, has appointed David Puth as a non-executive director. He has also become a member of the audit and remuneration committees of Icap’s board.
Natixis reports €407 million in crisis damage
Paris-based investment bank Natixis lost €407 million in the third quarter of the year, according to results released yesterday.
Tullett Prebon appoints director of Scandinavian rates
Tullett Prebon, the interdealer broker, has appointed Mark Lomax as director of Scandinavian rates.
Lawsuits add to ACA Capital's downgrade misery
Embattled financial insurer ACA Capital has been dealt a further blow by the announcement that two class action lawsuits are being brought against the company on behalf of shareholders who have seen the value of their investment plummet.
VAR exceptions reflect volatile season
Investment banks reported increased numbers of high trading losses in the third quarter of this year, highlighting the volatility in the financial markets and casting doubt on their risk modelling.
ECB re-enters money markets as fears of volatility return
The European Central Bank (ECB) will push extra liquidity into the money market to counter "re-emerging risk of volatility", it announced on Friday.