Asia Risk/News
Institutions overtake retail structured product investors as dominant source of Japan equity option flow
The recent rise in Japan’s equity markets have seen macro hedge funds and asset managers overtake the retail structured product investors as the dominant source of flow on Nikkei and Topix options
Icap: Sefs could lead to ‘sub-optimal hedging’
Moving NDFs to trade on Sefs could mean less hedging at longer end of the curve, says senior executive at Icap
DME’s Oman oil contract flourishes from futurisation of swaps
Shift away from swaps trading and recent price reporting agency scandals helping Oman contract, says DME chief
Singapore positions itself as OTC clearing hub for Asia
Clearing link with KRX will lead to larger volumes and efficiencies at SGX
Credit Suisse’s head of Asia equity derivatives sales retires
Min Park, regional head of equity derivatives and convertibles sales, is retiring from his role at Credit Suisse
Basel Committee secretary-general to head Australian regulator
Wayne Byres is set to become chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority when his term as secretary-general of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ends
Asia corporates unfairly ‘penalised’ by CVA capital charge
The move by European authorities to exempt European banks from holding CVA capital should be matched by regulators in Asia, according to senior bankers in the region
JSCC to start client clearing by March 2014
Japan’s over-the-counter derivatives clearing house will soon allow member banks to offer client clearing and it also plans to merge with another domestic clearing house, according to a senior official.
Higher Basel III pricing deters Asian banks from issuing new Tier II capital
Banks issued debt before the end-of-2012 deadline for Basel II capital, lessening their refinancing requirements for this year
Concerns over high-frequency trading overstated, says Australian regulator
Asic less concerned with high-frequency trading but is clamping down on dark pool operators
MAS warns on fragmented clearing and reporting
Asian financial markets have made progress in setting up CCPs and trade repositories, but greater harmonisation is needed across borders, Singaporean regulator warns
Singapore eyes regional hub status for offshore RMB
Addressing ACI Congress delegates, deputy prime minister and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore talks up Singapore's ability to facilitate the growth of renminbi trading outside China
Exchange consolidation in Asia making trading technology vulnerable to failure
Competition among exchanges in Japan is necessary to prevent systems outages such as those in the Osaka Securities Exchange earlier this month
Esma says national regulators must decide product eligibility for third-country CCP transition period
The European Securities and Markets Authority has addressed some of the concerns over which third-country CCP platforms and products are eligible for the transitional period, which begins on March 15
Bank of Japan derivatives purchases threaten already low equity ratio
The BoJ's latest inflation targeting weapon could challenge its balance sheet strength
Uncertainty over Emir may force European banks from some Asia OTC markets
The deadline is approaching for regulators to establish what European banks can clear and where on Asian CCP platforms ahead of OTC market standards going live from March 15
Swap futures margins may be underestimating risk exposures
A difference in margin approach between swaps and futures may mean the latter are not assessed on their level of riskiness
Regulatory certainty required for Basel III bond uptake in India
Indian banks are in need of regulatory compliant capital instruments – but domestic investors are wary
Thai equity derivatives market to double
Demand from corporate and private bank investors to drive growth in Thai structured product market
Korean regulator allows synthetic ETFs
Issuance of South Korean ETFs to remain largely from local managers despite changes to allow synthetic ETFs
Newedge to offer OTC clearing in Asia
Broker seeks to broaden its Asia offering by adding OTC IRS clearing in Singapore
NZX to launch equity derivatives market
New Zealand Stock Exchange to launch equity derivatives to meet demand for hedging instruments
Thailand insurers shun interest rate derivatives for RBC liability hedging
Derivatives and structured products remain unpopular with Thai insurers looking to hedge their liabilities following the introduction of a risk-based capital framework
ASX to use cross-margining efficiencies in battle for Australia clearing market
Australian domestic clearing house hoping to use lower margin costs as a means to win market share