Asia Risk/News
New Dow Jones blue-chip indexes to be used in structured products
Dow Jones Indexes launches Asia Dow and Europe Dow, which track 30 blue-chip companies in each region for use in ETFs and structured products
Korean banks face funding challenges due to eurozone debt crisis – RBS
Despite most Asian banks remaining insulated from the eurozone debt crisis, Korean banks are at greatest risk due to their reliance on high levels of external borrowing, according to RBS report. Meanwhile, the growth of the renminbi presents a liquidity…
Brics to cross-list equity derivatives via new alliance
A new ‘Brics exchanges alliance’ has been formed to allow investors to trade equity index derivatives of each participating exchange in local currencies. The move comes as Asian exchanges increasingly are establishing alliances to promote cross-border…
Basel Committee appoints Australian regulator as next secretary-general
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has appointed Wayne Byres as secretary-general, replacing Stefan Walter
Australian banks still face liquidity challenges, FSB peer review finds
A Financial Stability Board peer review finds the Australian financial system remains strong but banks face Basel III liquidity and wholesale funding challenges
RBI’s revised securitisation guidelines could ‘kill’ Indian market
The latest Reserve Bank of India revised draft guidelines for securitised transactions released late September have drawn criticism from market participants for being far too restrictive, with one lawyer saying the rules in their current form would …
JP Morgan makes changes to Asia fixed income team as Bulchandani bows out
JP Morgan has made senior sales and trading appointments within its Asia fixed income team. Pranav Thakur will lead fixed income trading for Asia ex-Japan, while Sudhir Goel is named head of fixed income sales and structuring for Asia ex-Japan, replacing…
Greater focus on OTC derivatives op risk required in Asia – Celent
Market participants in Asia need to focus more on operational risks associated with their resurgent OTC derivatives trading volumes, especially as the market moves towards trade repositories and central counterparty clearing, according to a new report…
Banks make structured products cutbacks in Australia
Departures from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, RBS and UBS come as retail structured products sales have failed to regain momentum following a collapse in volumes since the global financial crisis
Chinese sovereign wealth funds should dump US stocks, report says
Chinese sovereign funds such as Safe Investment Company and CIC should consider dumping and even shorting US retail stocks during US economic downturns, if they want to adopt an integrated asset and liability management process when making investment…
Korean central bank seeks external candidate to run reserves management
The Bank of Korea is seeking a new head of reserves management from outside of the central bank as part of an apparent attempt to bolster efficiency and foster better relations between the central bank and other market participants. This is the first…
On the move
On the move
SGX consults on derivatives clearing reform
The Singapore Exchange has proposed amendments to limit the liabilities of its members on exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives
BlackRock names McCombe as Asia-Pacific chairman; Fung named as CEO of HSBC Hong Kong
BlackRock has hired HSBC veteran Mark McCombe to succeed Rohit Bhagat as chairman of Asia-Pacific. Anita Fung, most recently head of global banking and markets for the Asia-Pacific, named chief executive of HSBC in Hong Kong
Asian reinsurance costs soar by up to 40% due to natural disaster payouts – Moody’s
A number of major natural disasters during the past year has increased reinsurance costs in Asia, with some Japanese insurers seeing a rise of 20% or more in the cost of reinsurance. But demand for reinsurance is still growing, according to Moody’s…
Hong Kong regulator moves to authorise renminbi products under RQFII
Hong Kong regulatory platform ready to approve RQFII products; China’s central bank says priority to be given to Hong Kong-based subsidiaries of mainland banks and fund managers
A-share ETF investors to face higher tracking error due to SFC collateral rule change
A new rule from the securities regulator, effective September 12, means some Hong Kong-listed A-share ETFs will have to fully collateralise counterparty risk exposure from their P-note issuers. The move could cause existing investors to rethink their…
Credit Suisse loses senior Asia prime broking staff; names replacements
Asia-Pacific head of flow financing for prime services departs Credit Suisse with Dereke Seeto named as his replacement
Daiwa makes cutbacks to derivatives team
Japanese bank loses senior derivatives personnel across Asian and London offices; blames Japan earthquake and market uncertainty
Australian regulator moves to implement Basel III two years early
The Australian banking regulator has proposed the country’s banks meet new Basel III capital and liquidity rules two years ahead of G-20 commitments. The proposal has drawn immediate criticism from the Australian Bankers’ Association
Structured Products Asia 2011: FX-linked products to grow in Hong Kong
Currency-linked structures likely to become more popular in Hong Kong with retail investors. But take-up of volatility products is still muted despite erratic markets due to concerns about complexity, panellists say
Structured Products Asia 2011: ‘Copy and paste’ KFS not good enough, says SFC’s Law
SFC policy director says some product issuers still provide inadequate key facts statements
India’s CCIL set to become currency options trade repository
The Clearing Corporation of India is already well ahead of rivals in Asia when it comes to receiving OTC interest rate derivatives data. It now looks set to become the country’s trade repository for non-rupee currency derivatives, as the clearer moves to…
Risk Japan 2011: Too-big-to-fail rules should be scrapped in favour of ‘bridge banks’
Japan looked at the need to impose excess capital for systemically important financial institutions in the 1990s and rejected it in favour of ‘bridge banks’ which could inherit losses in the event of a major bank getting into trouble. One university…