Risk magazine
Refco plans breakup and files for Chapter 11
Refco is preparing to sell off its futures brokerage to an investor group led by JC Flowers, as it files for bankruptcy protection.
Drayson joins BNP Paribas as head of securitisation
Tim Drayson has joined BNP Paribas in London as global head of securitisation, with the job of improving the bank's performance in the European structured credit markets.
European Islamic Investment Bank prepares for 2006 launch
European Islamic Investment Bank (EIIB), planned to be Britain's first halal bank, has named its senior management team as it prepares for launch next year.
Iris hires ex-SunGard consultant to spearhead sales
Swiss risk management company Iris has appointed Roberto Olivieri as vice-president in its sales and marketing unit.
Barclays adds cross-currency swaps to Barx
Barclays Capital has added cross-currency basis swaps to its Barx service provided via the Bloomberg electronic trading platform.
Bloomberg builds FX options presence
Bloomberg is continuing to build up its portfolio of foreign exchange tools with the planned introduction of forex options trading.
Exchanges continue to clear Refco FCM’s trades, DTCC says broker-dealer operation winding down
The controversy surrounding Refco has not hindered operations at its futures commission merchant (FCM) subsidiary, according to derivatives exchanges.
Fitch places 73 CDO tranches with Delphi exposure on negative rating watch
Fitch Ratings has placed 40 tranches from 15 public collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) and 33 tranches from 24 private CDOs on negative rating watch. The total exposure of these rated transactions is €1.27 billion.
High risk credits spark recovery swap revival
The high profile bankruptcy protection filing by US auto parts manufacturer Delphi last weekend and the subsequent downgrading of General Motors (GM) by Standard & Poor’s have heightened market interest in recovery swaps, say dealers.
China banks launch RMB interest rate swap
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has started giving out approvals on a deal-by-deal basis for renminbi-denominated interest rate swaps, with the Bank of China the first to arrange a transaction for a client, while another transaction between China…
Number of hedge funds to shrink in near future
Increased regulation will prompt fewer hedge fund start-ups and greater consolidation, according to panelists taking part in a discussion at a conference in New York yesterday.
Refco CEO charged with fraud
Phillip Bennett, until last week chairman and chief executive of brokerage firm Refco, has been charged with fraud after Refco accountants discovered debts of $430 million.
Lehman boosts structured product sales
Lehman Brothers has appointed Sophie Landry as executive director in its structured solutions group in London.
BNP Paribas launches Hong Kong retail credit-linked note
BNP Paribas is today launching its first retail structured note for the Hong Kong market. The Paris-based bank will offer capital guarantees on the performance of the 'Elite Series 1' credit-linked notes, which are issued by BNP Paribas Retail Note…
Creditex and Markit credit fixings used for Delta and Northwest
Creditex and Markit have, in partnership with major credit derivative dealers, conducted credit event fixing to generate cash settlement prices for Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines, whose bonds defaulted on September 14.
Protego closes £8 million property derivatives deal
Barclays Capital and Protego have arranged a property index certificate sale worth £8 million, the first significant secondary market deal in the nascent property derivatives sector.
Fitch hires Matsui from Swiss Re
Fitch Ratings has hired Vincent Matsui, former co-head of global structured credit underwriting at Swiss Re in New York, as a managing director in its collateralised debt obligation (CDO) asset manager ratings group.
Delphi bankruptcy jolts European credit markets
Michigan-based auto parts maker Delphi’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Saturday has sparked a frenzied day of trading for the credit markets.
BNP Paribas adds to equity derivatives sales team
Gilles Staquet has joined BNP Paribas to cover equity derivatives arbitrage sales for Belgium and Luxembourg.
Katrina could cost insurance industry $55 billion, research says
Damage caused by Hurricane Katrina will cost the insurance industry between $40 billion and $55 billion, breaking the record pay-out made by the business following the September 11 attacks, according to new research from Towers Perrin, a US insurance…
Barrie and Hibbert appoints senior risk management actuary
Edinburgh-based financial risk management consultants, Barrie and Hibbert, has appointed Colin Wilson as a senior consultant.
TriOptima executes more CDS tear-ups
TriOptima, the Stockholm-based company specialising in multilateral swaps terminations, conducted a further round of the US Dow Jones CDX credit default swap (CDS) index tear-ups yesterday, tearing up $650 billion in notional with a mark-to-market value…
Comment requested on revised non-Basel II capital adequacy standards
Several US banking oversight and regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve Board, have requested public comment within 90 days on proposed changes to current US capital adequacy standards. The revised standards would, in the future, apply to…
Major dealers issue joint letter to Fed on credit derivatives
The New York Federal Reserve meeting with 14 major dealers on September 15 appears to have succeeded in coercing the industry into taking more concerted action to tackle the mounting problems in credit derivatives confirmation backlogs. Following the…