Life insurance
On buy side, equity index options tilted bullish in Q1
Counterparty Radar: Share of notional in short positions hit new low for US life insurers; mutual funds also reported smaller short books
UK insurers turn up leverage on structured gilt trades
Par-par asset swaps give way to higher-leverage structures as funding costs increase
Ellington spinout hopes to ease whole-loan investing
Data hurdles have frustrated insurers as they look to increase allocations
Exposures with undisclosed risk-weights hit new highs at US banks
Assets in the ‘other’ category of standardised risk-weights grow to $700bn
Will lifer exodus kill Taiwan’s NDF market?
Traders split over whether insurers’ retreat from FX hedging is help or hindrance
US insurers turn to short-dated FX forwards as notionals rise
Counterparty Radar: Trades under three months make up nearly 60% of total positions, up from just a third in 2022
Cuts and points – how the Dealer Rankings work
Dealer Rankings 2025: We have a simple way to compare dealers. Sort of simple, anyway
Choosy dealers search for their sweet spot
Dealer Rankings 2025: No bank appears in every top 10 list, as data reveals shifting strengths
Opportunity knocks as big US dealers step back
Dealer Rankings 2025: Third annual exercise shows top US dealers are less dominant, allowing Barclays and others to strengthen
Goldman Sachs tops third edition of Dealer Rankings
Dealer Rankings 2025: Citi slides, Europeans climb in annual analysis of US fund and insurer trades
Op risk data: GVA and Nobitex in geopolitical risk strikes
Also: UBS chief a target of third-party data hack, internal bank frauds in Asia. Data by ORX News
What drove the Taiwan dollar surge?
Foreign speculators, carry unwinds and central bank inaction fuelled the 10% move, not just life insurers, say traders
Wells Fargo’s FX strategy wins over buy-side clients
Counterparty Radar: Life insurers looked west for liquidity after November’s US presidential election
Asia’s bond investors hesitant to buy US dip, say dealers
Insurers and pension funds have been slower to step in than usual during sell-off
How Risk.net’s robots unlocked Ucits trade data
Machine learning tool helps reveal the largest European derivatives users – and who they trade with
Cayman reinsurance shift ‘negative’ for US life firms
Moody’s warns of US insurers switching preference after Bermuda tightens capital rules
Life and pensions ALM system of the year: Conning
Conning proved to be a standout vendor in the life insurance and pensions space and secured the Life and pensions ALM system of the year award at the Risk Technology Awards 2024
NAIC proposes asset tests for offshore reinsurance
Cashflow assumptions that prove too aggressive could lead to follow-up action – Minnesota supervisor
Often fluid. Not always liquid
Dealer Rankings 2024: On the buy side and the sell side, the make-up and depth of OTC mini-markets can change rapidly
Citi tops second edition of Risk’s Dealer Rankings
Dealer Rankings 2024: Data shows five big US dealers still lead, but with Europeans closing in
MassMutual adds to mammoth interest rate swaps book
Counterparty Radar: Firm was responsible for 28% of US life insurers’ notional aggregate in Q4 2023