News/Regulation
Sempra Energy Trading acquires Enron Metals
Sempra Energy Trading, the Connecticut-based gas, power and petroleum dealer, is to acquire Enron Metals in a $145 million cash deal.
ABN’s Mulder calls for faster op risk implementation
Bankers were urged to accelerate implementation of operational risk management practices to better serve their institutions ahead of Basel II by Herman Mulder, senior executive vice-president for group risk management at Dutch bank ABN Amro, during a…
US rule proposal could boost insurer derivatives use
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), an official body that develops model insurance regulations for adoption at the US state level, is considering a new accounting guideline that would allow US-based insurers to report hedge…
FSA chairman voices CDO concerns
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK's principal regulator, is concerned that the rapid growth of credit risk transfers between banks and insurers/ reinsurers could affect financial stability.
Renewed FX interest by funds offers prime brokerage fillip
The return of funds to trading forex has prompted a boom in the provision of prime brokerage services. Banks such as Bank of America are hiring more staff to cope with the increased demand, while others, like UBS Warburg, are building online prime…
Experts call for constant review of corporate risk practices
Risk management practices and financial reporting have been high on the corporate governance agenda since the September 11 terrorist attacks and the spate of business failures during the past year, according to speakers at a corporate governance seminar…
OpVantage and Raft integrate products
Operational risk software and data vendors Raft International and OpVantage plan to integrate Raft Radar and OpVar, their respective op risk applications, in a collaboration that will see the global delivery of joint products and services to financial…
BNP Paribas closes weather derivatives unit
BNP Paribas has withdrawn from the weather derivatives market in a move likely to prompt closer scrutiny of weather-trading unit performance at other banks.
Traders confused over mixed signals on yen policy
Traders are having problems second-guessing the Japanese government’s policy on the yen, after the currency's firming to ¥132.38 against the dollar yesterday. This followed the yen hitting a three-year low of ¥133.70 the day before.
An uncertain future
Questions over regulatory requirements in the US were making energy firms cautious about their expansion plans, even before Enron’s collapse complicated the picture. By Kevin Foster
Sound practices paper gets positive response
Bankers generally responded positively to the guidance on sound practices for managing operational risk issued by global banking regulators in December.
FASB: loan commitments must be treated like derivatives
The US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) ruled last month that some unfunded loan commitments made by banks should be treated like derivatives and marked-to-market. The ruling came nearly nine months after Goldman Sachs first proposed the…
European timetable threatened by CP3 delay
The European Union's timetable for bringing new risk-based bank capital adequacy rules into effect is in jeopardy following the decision of global banking regulators to delay publication of a key consultative paper.
Canada's Le Pan heads Basel advisory group
Nicholas Le Pan, superintendent of financial institutions in Canada, will lead a group that will help banking supervisors share information and approaches related to the coming into effect of the Basel II bank capital adequacy accord.
FSA's new rules turn up heat on risk managers
The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has caused a stir in the upper ranks of London-based investment banks with new rules that effectively force senior executives to accept unlimited liability for risk management errors.
JP Morgan accuses WestLB on $165m Enron swap
JP Morgan Chase has accused WestLB of failing to make payment on a $165 million letter of credit (l/c) backing an Enron-related swap. JP Morgan Chase made the dispute public, though it did not name West LB, instead merely referring to “a European…
CSFB handed record fine for UK derivatives trades
The Securities and Futures Authority (SFA), a subsidiary of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has fined investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) a total of £540,000, for two breaches of its FSA Principle 9 regulatory standard. The amount…
Credit derivatives see six-fold increase in three years
The over-the-counter (OTC) credit derivatives market stood at $694 billion in June, a six-fold increase in the last three years, according to the latest global triennial survey released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) today.
HKMA to form direct link to Euroclear
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Euroclear plan to build a direct link between the HKMA’s central money markets unit (CMU) and the Brussels-based international central securities depository.