Structured products
WHAT IS THIS? Structured products are investments that have multiple components. For retail investors, the most common form is a bond plus an option – these tend to be standardised, sold in small tickets and large volumes. Managing the risks of large structured products portfolios is one of the biggest challenges dealers face.
Wind firming caps found better than swaps at reducing risk
Wind firming deals claim to address intermittency and stabilise renewable generator cashflow, but how effective are they?
China sees slowdown in structured deposit volumes
Easing of restrictions on wealth management products tips market away from structured deposits
Natixis’s €260m hit blamed on big books and Kospi3 product
Rivals say French dealer grew business too quickly – with leveraged version of Korean index one source of pain
Industry lukewarm on proposed ‘quick fixes’ to Priips rules
Many fear performance scenarios will remain misleading and expose providers to mis-selling claims
Bank risk manager of the year: UBS
Risk Awards 2019: Bank heeds lessons of past structured products routs to navigate February volatility
CLO scare: could rated tranches see losses?
Structures are more solid, but loans are dicier, and recovery rates may be disintegrating
Risk Markets Technology Awards 2019: Vendors enter the pick-and-mix era
Modular tech and micro-services – plus new risk and regulatory needs – are creating openings for insurgents and incumbents
Structured products house of the year: Societe Generale
Risk Awards 2019: French bank struck Commerzbank deal and ramped up risk transfer focus
UBS hires Moussa from Credit Suisse for Asia QIS role
Imene Moussa to work on QIS and off-balance-sheet structuring across the region
Structured product platforms take off in Asia
Multi-dealer platforms Contineo and FinIQ seek to replicate success in Europe’s fragmented market
Asian exotics desks need to slash risk
Time for structured products desks to curb their appetite for risk
Korean insurers shun structured notes ahead of IFRS 9
Prospect of earnings volatility blamed as big buyers of notes turn to less exotic assets
Equity vol strategies get defensive
Floored short funding legs and long vega worked in latest US selloff, dealers claim
US banks shuffle structured product portfolios
Investments classified as available-for-sale drop $8.7 billion across six largest dealers
No fast buck for global banks moving into China
New entrants must not think majority stake in JV will pay immediate dividends
House of the year, Korea: Hana Financial Investment
Asia Risk Awards 2018
Societe Generale defers €1.35 billion of trade profits
French dealer holds back far more than rival dealers
StanChart culls debt, switches model, and market RWAs drop
Structured product RWAs now calculated using internal model, saving $1.1 billion
Korea autocall dealers brace for losses but no 2015 repeat
Traders dampen fears of hedging wipeout despite 20% drop in HSCEI underlying index
Trade war threatens Korea autocall losses
Dealers warn of $240 million in hedging losses if HSCEI index slides further
Rise of the cyborgs: tech remakes the front office
Dealers “have no choice” but to change, says UBS’s Orcel – and plenty of changes are coming
BNPP beats SG on equity trading
Equity and prime services revenues surge 19.3% at BNPP
Prudential Financial braces for higher lapse risk
Net redemptions hit $1.2 billion at US insurance giant
South Korea prepares for EU benchmark equivalence
New regulatory framework aims to allow European firms to continue using local benchmarks