Risk magazine
Lehman Brothers reshuffles insurance risk products group
Lehman Brothers’ insurance products group, which structures catastrophe risk securities and other insurance liability management products for reinsurers, has been merged with Lehman’s insurance strategies group. Insurance strategies, which now numbers 21…
Weill defends Citigroup's actions over Enron
Citigroup’s chief executive Sandy Weill yesterday defended his company's actions amid increased US government scrutiny into its relationship with bankrupt energy trader Enron.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi to use OpVar on a global basis
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (BTM), the Japanese banking institution, plans to use OpVar, the operational risk management application, on a global basis. OpVar was developed by US risk software firm OpVantage, which Fitch Risk Management bought earlier this…
Barclays grabs Lehman's forex trading head
Barclays has hired John Caccavale, head of forex trading at Lehman Brothers in New York, to head trading for the Americas. He will report to Thomas Kalaris, Barclays’ chief executive of the Americas, based in New York. According to a recruiter, Caccavale…
Japan Credit Market Update: Spreads widen on global equity nervousness
Japan’s credit default swap spreads widened across the board by about 20 basis points this week amid global equity nervousness, because of more corporate concerns, and a generally bearish market.
More US companies to expense stock options
Two more US companies are set to follow Coca-Cola’s example of expensing their stock option plans. The Atlanta-based drinks company last week said it plans to expense the cost of all stock options the company grants beginning in the fourth quarter.
Equity slump sees upsurge in long-dated hedging
The European interest rate swaps market has seen a return of the long-dated hedging programmes that first surfaced at the end of last year, according to traders at investment banks.
Barclays Capital brings in Stephen Jones
Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank, has hired Stephen Jones as its London-based head of corporate risk management for Europe and head of the newly formed financing solutions group.
Deutsche in major shake-up of credit responsibilities
Deutsche Bank has shaken up its credit derivatives business, making Boaz Weinstein its global head of investment grade credit risk. Weinstein took up the newly created role in June, continuing with his responsibilities as Deutsche Bank’s head of credit…
Rothschild Australia to offer fund of hedge funds
Rothschild Australia Asset Management will launch a fund of local hedge funds in the second half of the year, according to Andrew Baker, head of products at the asset management firm.
European banks report decline in equity derivatives volumes
Despite another surge in implied volatility this month, the European equity derivatives business has seen a decline in volumes in 2002, say dealers. Implied volatility on the FTSE reached a high of 39.5% this month, compared with the average daily figure…
SEC lifts final barrier to single-stock futures trading
The final barrier to the trading of single-stock futures (SSFs) in the US was removed yesterday when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved customer margin rules. Earlier this month, the SEC’s regulatory partner, the US Commodity Futures…
Goldman Sachs claims proprietary leap in MBS options pricing
Goldman Sachs claims it has developed a revolutionary new model for pricing mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Alan Brazil, head of mortgage, ABS and rates research at Goldman Sachs in New York, said the new valuation model enables the increasing…
Isda requires CDS reference obligation specification at trade date
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has decided that confirmations should specify reference obligations as of the trade date for credit default swap (CDS) transactions.
Deutsche hires senior FX strategist from JP Morgan Chase
Deutsche Bank has hired Bilal Hafeez from JP Morgan Chase as a senior foreign exchange strategist.
German Finance Agency initiates swaps programme
The German Finance Agency has begun its interest rate swaps programme to manage the risk on its debt portfolio. The Agency first gave an indication it would enter the swaps business in January, and now plans to transact up to €20 billion in swaps…
CreditTrade prepares credit volatility pricing tool
Credit derivatives inter-broker dealer and data provider CreditTrade is developing an algorithm to price options on credit default swaps for 20-25 European corporate credits.
JP Morgan and Citigroup pass Enron blame to Andersen
Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase yesterday sought to shift blame on to auditor Andersen for its role in approving 'prepay' transactions, which masked Enron’s financial malaise.
Credit Markets Update: Insurer protection remains under pressure
The cost of protection on insurance companies remained under pressure in the credit derivatives market this week, with spreads widening across the sector as the fall in equity values caused investor concern about insurers being forced to sell equities to…
Algorithmics hires van den Akker to push Algo Credit sales
Algorithmics, the Toronto-headquartered provider of risk management software, has appointed Mark van den Akker as a sales specialist to head its Algo Credit risk sales in North America.
Further surge in investment grade synthetic CDO issuance expected, says BofA
A further surge in static and managed corporate synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) issuance is expected this year, according to new research by Bank of America.
DrKW hires senior credit structurer in Japan
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW), the investment banking arm of Germany's Dresdner Bank, has hired Carlos Cala as director and senior structurer within its global credit derivatives team. Based in Tokyo, he will report to Rick Weinstein, London…
Korea's IBK to enter equity derivatives business
The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) plans to enter the equity derivatives business in South Korea by the end of the year in anticipation of an increase in equity derivatives activity in the country, said Kyu-Bong Hwang, IBK's head of the derivatives…
Barclays nabs Bear Stearns' European credit derivatives head
Andrew Whittle, Bear Stearns head of European credit derivatives in London, left the bank yesterday, a spokesman for the US bank in London has confirmed.