Risk magazine/News
Tullett and Starsupply merge oil businesses
Brokers Tullett Liberty and Starsupply Energy have merged their oil businesses to create what they claim is one of the largest energy broking operations worldwide.
NYSE to recalculate Composite index as basis for ETF
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) plans to rebalance its broad-based Composite index, in a move that should herald the introduction of an NYSE Composite exchange-traded fund (ETF) later this year.
US Risk Management Association appoints new operational risk head
Charles Taylor has been appointed director of operational risk at the 88-year-old Risk Management Association (RMA), based in Philadelphia, a 3,000-member organisation catering primarily to US commercial banks, community banks and some global investment…
Eurex dismisses imminent US expansion rumours
European derivatives exchange Eurex today dismissed rumours that it is accelerating its strategy to expand in the US.
JP Morgan Chase takes $400m surety bond hit
JP Morgan Chase has settled its high-profile legal dispute with 11 of the world’s leading insurers, over payment of surety bonds issued by the insurers that guaranteed prepaid commodity forward contract obligations between now-bankrupt energy trader…
MBRM buys Cygnifi intellectual property rights
MB Risk Management (MBRM), a London-based financial analytics company, has bought the entire intellectual property rights of JP Morgan spin-off Cygnifi Derivative Services from its bankruptcy trustees.
Swiss Re names Godbehere as chief financial officer
Ann Godbehere will assume the role of chief financial officer at reinsurer Swiss Re on April 1. Her promotion follows current incumbent John Fitzpatrick’s promotion to chief executive of Swiss Re's life and health business group, a vacancy created by…
Bank Leumi appoints new chief credit officer for the US
Israel’s Bank Leumi has named Ira Romoff as its new chief credit officer and risk manager for North America. He will replace Stanley Karp, who will retire from the bank following 20 years' service tomorrow.
Morgan Stanley creates 124 more managing directors
US investment bank Morgan Stanley has promoted 124 of its staff to managing directors, taking its total number of staff at that level to 983. Stephen Blyth, a New York-based options trader and Risk contributor, was among those promoted.
JP Morgan Chase offers standard maturity dates for credit derivatives in Europe
JP Morgan Chase will quote credit default swaps in Europe with 12 standard maturity dates for each calendar year from today. The move is part of an effort to boost liquidity in the credit derivatives market, with European contracts now ending on the…
Bourse de Montréal fines derivatives broker
The regulatory division of Canada’s Bourse de Montréal has fined Fimat Derivatives Canada C$1,000 after one of its employees entered an electronic order before obtaining approval to work as a trader.
Reuters readies for swaps broking foray
UK electronic information and dealing systems provider, Reuters, appears to be positioning itself for a foray into the electronic broking of interest rate swaps. The company has reached an agreement in principle to take control of the rate swaps platform…
Weinstein resurfaces at Cantor
Bernie Weinstein, former president of Thomson Financial’s sales and trading group, will become a senior managing director at inter-dealer broker Cantor Fitzgerald on January 1, overseeing Cantor Market Data (CMD) and eSpeed’s Software Solutions business.
Energy companies should embrace trading, says report
Energy companies must embrace trading if they are to survive in the post-Enron market, said a new report by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).
Julius Baer launches emerging forex desk
Swiss financial institution Bank Julius Baer has launched an emerging markets FX desk in New York with the hire of two traders from Greenwich-based AIG Trading.
Hong Kong banks lagging in preparation for Basel II
Hong Kong’s banks are lagging their European counterparts in preparing for Basel II with most still at the early stages of project planning, according to a report by consultants KPMG.
Traders see interest in short-dated protection for insurers
Credit derivatives traders said interest in short-dated protection on European insurers was active this week. But the cost of protection in the normally more liquid five-year credit default swap markets for European financial institutions remained…
Forward Freight Agreement Brokers' Association elects new chairman
The Forward Freight Agreement Brokers' Association (FFABA) has elected Philippe van den Abeele, a broker and managing director of London shipbrokers, Clarksons, as its new chairman.
FSA slaps CSFBi with £4 million fine
The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday fined Credit Suisse First Boston International (CSFBi), the derivatives arm of Credit Suisse First Boston, £4 million for attempting to mislead the Japanese regulatory and tax authorities - the…
Japanese default swap spreads tight despite bearish equity market
Convertible arbitrage funds and other investors seeking premium continued to maintain tight Japanese credit default swap spreads, despite continued weakness in the country's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index, which dropped near its 19-year low of 8,303,…
Euronext.liffe to launch options on exchange-traded funds
The derivatives branch of the Euronext exchange, Euronext.liffe, plans to launch options on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January. The move follows rival Eurex’s launch of options and futures on ETFs in November.
Trade associations launch IRB survey
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the Risk Management Association and the British Bankers' Association today launched a survey of the validation of banks' internal credit ratings, a key element underlying the internal ratings-based …
Isda says S&P got it wrong with definitions criticism
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ criticism last week of a proposed change in credit derivatives documentation language was based on an out-of-date draft, according to an International Swaps and Derivatives Association spokeswoman.
Hong Kong’s PCI sees opportunities in US, Europe synthetic CDOs
Hong Kong-based PCI Investment Management, which recently closed a $500 million Asian managed synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO), is in no hurry to market another synthetic CDO, but managing director Herman Fung reckons that there could be…