Risk magazine/News
Heavyweights move to tackle rising unnamed counterparty risk
Top foreign exchange banks are joining forces with central banks and industry groups to eliminate unnamed counterparty risk.
New Star sets up convertible arbitrage hedge fund
London's New Star Asset Management has hired two ex-Soros Fund Management hedge fund managers to run its new convertible arbitrage fund, which is due to begin trading at the end of March.
BIS to offer derivatives statistics for individual countries
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said today that it is expanding its statistics on banks' country risk exposures to include data on derivatives exposures to individual countries.
Japanese bank spreads hit on renewed equities portfolio concerns
Spreads on Japanese bank credit default swaps widened an average 10 basis points this week, sparked by renewed investor concerns about unrealised losses linked to their large equity portfolios.
Basel II likely to boost credit markets, says Fitch
The Basel II capital Accord is likely to boost credit market funding activities, particularly for lower investment-grade companies seeking financing, according to Fitch, the credit rating agency.
BoA hires global markets head in Hong Kong
Bank of America (BoA) has hired Abidin Siregar in a newly created role as head of global markets, Hong Kong. He will assume responsibility for sales, trading and research as well as building the bank’s debt capital raising business across the region.
Lehman appoints head of equity derivatives sales
Lehman Brothers has named Joseph Amato, ex-managing director and head of global equity research, as head of global equity sales, overseeing sales coverage of all cash, derivatives, convertibles and equity finance products worldwide.
Hedge fund of fund investors may start using overlays
Improved risk exposure reporting by hedge funds may spark the introduction of new overlay strategies by investors increasingly concerned by bubbles of non-diversifiable risk in their portfolios.
Pension deficit concern sparks demand for default protection
Traders saw a marked increase in volumes for credit protection, following a credit watch alert by rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on 12 major European corporations earlier today. S&P today warned that the companies, including Sainsbury’s, Rolls…
SunGard alleges Algo has used its confidential information
In a bizarre twist, US-based technology services company, SunGard, has responded to legal action by Algorithmics regarding its alleged use of Algorithmics' confidential information, by claiming its Canadian rival has used confidential information…
Dealers rebut UK covered warrants market flop claims
Leading warrants dealers in the UK have rebutted claims that the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) new covered warrants market is a flop.
OM system failure behind HKEx interruption
A fault in the system of Swedish software company, OM Gruppen, was to blame for a temporary failure of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearings’ (HKEx) futures and options trading system last Thursday, the exchange has revealed.
Trichet to top the bill at Prmia’s inaugural European summit
Jean-Claude Trichet, governor of the Banque de France, and the most likely successor to Wim Duisenberg as president of the European Central Bank (ECB), will make the keynote address at the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association's (Prmia)…
Derivatives veteran Brickell set to oversee US mortgage agencies
US president George Bush said he intends to nominate Mark Brickell, chief executive of Blackbird Holdings and a veteran of the derivatives industry, as director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) at the Department of Housing…
Prebon Yamane names new MD in Hong Kong
International brokerage house Prebon Yamane has named Peter Pao as its new managing director in Hong Kong following the retirement of 28-year veteran, Joe Lam, in December last year. In his new role, Pau will be responsible for the greater China region.
White knight rides in to back Rolfe & Nolan MBO
HgCapital Funds, a European private equity finance company specialising in technology investments, has thrown its support behind a management buyout (MBO) of UK derivatives back-office vendor Rolfe & Nolan, valuing the 30-year old company at £15.2…
Algo slaps injunction on SunGard over use of confidential information
Canadian risk management systems provider Algorithmics has slapped an injunction on SunGard aimed at stopping its US-headquartered rival from using confidential information allegedly leaked to SunGard by an ex-Algorithmics employee.
Fitch upgrades OpVar tool for operational risk
Fitch Risk Management has added a range of new services to its OpVar software suite, an operational risk management quantification tool. Version 5.0, scheduled for release in March, now offers an enhanced data collection module and improved data…
SunGard releases intranet version of Account Risk Module
SunGard Futures Systems, a division of US-based technology company SunGard, has released a new intranet version of its Account Risk Module (ARM), an account risk assessment tool designed for use with its GMI system for listed derivatives processing. GMI…
Tokio Marine adds to 'cherry blossom' derivatives
Japan's Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance has added an extra hedge to its 'cherry blossom' derivatives contracts linked to the country’s spring temperatures, said an official at the insurance firm in Tokyo.
FSA decision prompts tightening for insurers’ credit spreads
The cost of protection for the European insurance sector has tightened by up to 15bp in trading this week following a decision by UK regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), to ease regulatory solvency requirements for individual life assurers.
Nationalisation required for Japanese bank recovery, says Fitch
A partial nationalisation of Japan’s ailing banks may be the only way to resolve the country’s economic woes, with recent efforts by individual institutions to restructure their balance sheets unlikely to lead to an autonomous recovery in the banking…
TriOptima’s swap tear-up service readies for March launch
TriReduce, an interest rate swaps tear-up service developed by Stockholm-headquartered TriOptima, may start its first run in late March, following a delay of about three months due to documentation and technology hook-up issues.
MBIA reports $82 million unrealised loss mainly due to synthetic CDOs
New York-based monoline insurer MBIA said the largest negative impact on its income during 2002 arose from its synthetic collateralized debt obligation (CDO) investments. The majority of its total mark-to-market unrealised loss of $82 million was…