The Americas
Credit jitters drive CDS volumes to new highs in Q2
US retail funds increase sold protection as credit default swap index notional hits $185bn
US corporate securities settlement failures hit four-year high
Primary dealers report $136 billion in failed settlements, second-highest weekly total since 2015
Burning ambition: will Europe join the US in setting fire to the rules?
As the US dismantles post-crisis regulations, some think Europe will follow in a bid to boost economic growth
Little consensus on how banks manage FVA
Risk Benchmarking: Majority of dealers still mix and match methodologies for funding adjustments
Banks want AML data upgrade to complement US regulatory reform
FinCEN’s proposed overhaul sparks debate on whether it will lead to smarter or weaker supervision
Off the grid? Dealers mull XVA cloud shift
Risk Benchmarking: 69% of European banks still run core XVA calculations predominantly on-premises, and 75% of global dealers
US banks cut commodity derivatives as equity books hit record
Commodity notional falls 6.3% as equity positions climb to $19.42trn
Swap spread swings push US corporates to rethink locks
Volatile swap spreads have issuers weighing a shift from swap locks to costlier Treasury locks for pre-issuance hedges
Large US banks’ lending to private equity funds reaches $239bn
JP Morgan, Goldman and BofA account for 80% of quarterly increase
Regulatory clarity urged for CME’s single-stock futures
SEC short selling and market access rules may hamper clearing and broker participation
Calamos combines rival structures with new autocall ETF
Generic local vol model allows exotic payoff to be packaged in index without vol target
Hedge funds shelved yen basis bet on US deal
Funds exited USD/JPY flatteners tied to Japan’s $550bn pledge and new funding may not revive the trade
Op risk data: EFG takes a bath for two decades of money laundering
Also: Deepfake voice clone cons Intesa division; key couple of cryptocurrency hacks. Data by ORX News
BRL bulls hold firm after Bolsonaro first-round win
Hedge funds keep USD/BRL puts ahead of election run-off as protection premiums for Lula upset soar
Choppy Q1 precedes big Q2 for US rates books
Interest rate and inflation swaps hit notional records, filings show, while mutual funds pile into Euribor and Sonia swaptions
Imminent US shake-up of LCR slated to include discount window
Adding Fed liquidity facility to bank regulation may help overcome stigma, raise lending capacity
An agentic bank? Not so fast
With no clear definition or way to gauge ROI, claims of AI adoption should be taken with a pinch of salt
Canton: has Wall Street found its blockchain?
Network and privacy behind Digital Asset spin-off’s tilt at next-gen settlement
European UST holdings overtake Asia for first time
China and Japan see declines in US Treasuries while UK holdings approach $1trn
Kalshi seeks CFTC approval for 10-year US Treasury perp
Extended review period for first-of-its-kind contract will run until November 29
US fund managers reshuffle dealer books amid new trading highs
Mutual funds, ETFs hit record FX forwards positions but retreat from options; insurers rotate counterparties