Risk magazine
Singapore reconsiders hedge fund rules
Hot on the heels of Hong Kong’s decision to open up the hedge fund market to retail investors, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is now revising its own rules on retail hedge fund investments, bringing it in line with its main regional rival.
Singapore harmonises risk-based regulation of financial firms
Singapore financial regulators said today they would integrate risk-based regulation of banks, insurance companies and investment firms under a new department from September 1.
Standard Bank Asia signs up Spectrum
Standard Bank Asia is to use Pennsylvania-based foreign exchange and interest rate risk management software provider Financial Software Systems’ Spectrum Treasury System in its Hong Kong trading centre to manage money market instruments, interest rate…
SG expands fixed-income distribution team
SG, the corporate and investment banking arm of Société Générale, has hired Philip Brutsche to its German and eastern European fixed-income distribution team. Brutsche will be responsible for marketing flow fixed-income products, including interest rate…
Van Tonder takes over as Front’s South Africa head
Cliff van Tonder has assumed leadership of Front Capital Systems’ South Africa office. He will maintain relations with existing Front clients such as ABSA, Standard Bank, Nedcor and Investec, as well as targeting new clients likely to include prominent…
FCTM signs up for Summit risk management software
First Chicago Tokio Marine Financial Products, a joint venture between Bank One of the US and Japan's Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance, has signed up to use New York-based risk management systems provider Summit Systems’ front-to-back modular software…
Julius Baer launches capital protected products in response to “volatile and difficult times”
Declining political and economic stability has led to Bank Julius Baer launching a number of capital protected products, including investments that offer private investors exposure to rising gold prices, said the Swiss banking group.
Credit Markets Update: US airline woes push up protection costs on European carriers
The cost of credit protection on European airlines widened by 10 to 20 basis points this week following investor concerns about the state of the American airline industry.
Borealis signs up to Tempest XL risk management system
Borealis Group, the Danish chemical producer, is to use the Tempest XL trading and risk management system developed by technology and systems provider Triple Point Technology.
Skandia Liv likely to up hedge fund investments by year-end
Skandia Liv, the life assurance arm of Sweden’s Skandia with $27 billion in funds under management at the end of last year, is set to increase its investments in hedge funds by the end of the year, according to Malin Björkmo, Skandia Liv chief investment…
EU default rates hit record high in Q2, says S&P
Rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) said speculative-grade default rates in the European Union (EU) soared to a record high in the second quarter. The EU recorded a default rate of 5.11% in the second quarter, surpassing both the global and US…
Vijayan quits Andersen to join Principia Partners
Anil Vijayan, former head of the straight-through processing practice in the consulting division of auditor Andersen, has moved to software vendor Principia Partners to shape the New Jersey-based company’s FAS 133 and IAS 39 derivatives accounting…
SunGard snaps up UK’s Monis
US trading and risk technology supplier SunGard has acquired Monis, the derivatives software company, in a move designed to combine the former’s straight-through processing (STP) expertise with the latter’s pricing systems. The move is part of an ongoing…
CME offers past derivatives data
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is offering a new service called CME E-History, a fee-based service that will automate the provision of historical price data for CME futures and options for analysing price trends.
Amex and Iverson to monitor ETFs
Iverson Financial has developed a new service, Amex ETF Monitor (AEM), for the American Stock Exchange as part of a two-month-old joint partnership agreement, RIskNews ' sister publication Inside Market Data has learned. Amex ETF Monitor is a published…
Economist questions banks’ approach to VAR analysis
Bank risk managers must use more intra-day price data – also referred to as high-frequency data – to improve their value-at-risk analyses, according to Richard Olsen, an economist and founder of Zurich-based hedge fund and risk services company Olsen.
Currenex and RCP launch buy-side interface
Global online currency exchange Currenex and UK-based straight-through processing (STP) specialist RCP Consultants have developed an interface that offers immediate connectivity between Currenex’s FX trading system and many treasury and portfolio…
New director of group risk management at Invensys
Invensys, the production technology and energy management company, has hired Nick Smith as director of group risk management in London.
Japan Credit Market Update: Fujitsu and bank spreads hit in tighter general market
The cost of credit protection was higher on Japanese banks and some electronics names this week, amid a more stabilised market.
True Quote trading platform adds electricity products
APB Energy has added electricity options to its online energy trading platform, True Quote.
SG appoints director of structured products in Tokyo
SG, a division of French banking group Société Générale, has boosted its Tokyo-based structured products team with the appointment of Soon-Il Lee as a director of the group.
HypoVereinsbank moves for Japanese credit derivatives licence
HypoVereinsbank is preparing to apply for a licence that would allow it to trade credit derivatives in Tokyo. The move comes as the German bank has significantly beefed up its credit derivatives and securitisation teams in Asia.
Credit Markets Update: Iberian credits tighten following IMF's Brazil bail-out
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) $30 billion rescue package for Brazil, announced yesterday, generated a positive response from financial markets participants and caused the credit default protection on Iberian names to narrow.
Pardue resigns from Morgan to set up alternative investment house
Charles Pardue has resigned as co-head of marketing for structured finance at JP Morgan in Europe to establish Prytania Alternative Investment Management. He plans to launch Prytania in early 2003.