Articles by Lukas Becker
Inside the week that shook the US Treasury market
Rates traders on the “scary” moves that almost broke the world’s safest and most liquid investment
Patience pays off for XVA desks in wild week of tariff swings
Dealers avoided knee-jerk reactions that could have caused credit spreads to widen further
Fed’s Bowman to ‘prioritise’ SLR exemption for US Treasuries
Reinstating Covid-era relief is a ‘no brainer’, dealers say, as bond markets reel from tariff chaos
Trump tariffs turn swap spreads into ‘pain trade’
Hedge funds bet big on Treasuries to outperform swaps. The opposite happened.
For US Treasury algos, dealers get with the program
Four banks now offer execution algos on Bloomberg, with plans to go further, faster
Hedge funds flock to US swap spreads on SLR easing talk
‘Trade of the year’ sees investors position for shrinking negative basis as Treasuries predicted to outperform swaps
AI ‘lab’ or no, banks triangulate towards a common approach
Survey shows split between firms with and without centralised R&D. In practice, many pursue hybrid path
Everything, everywhere: 15 AI use cases in play, all at once
Research is top AI use case, best execution bottom; no use is universal, and none shunned, says survey
HSBC appoints Benihasim as global FX head
Hong Kong-based Benihasim replaces Richard Bibbey, who moved to London to run institutional sales
Researchers, quants, strats – AI is coming for you
Survey IDs roles to be most impacted by front-office AI, but experts say many will change, not disappear
CDS panel revamp wins support, but questions linger
Role of independent members, transparency and funding of enhanced committee yet to be decided
Clearing bottlenecks blamed for muted volumes at FMX
Regulatory hurdles and market conditions have also hampered CME rival since its September launch
Talking Heads 2024: All eyes on US equities
How the tech-driven S&P 500 surge has impacted thinking at five market participants
Inside Nomura’s European equities rebuild
Talking Heads: Global chief Simon Yates also addresses US crowding and Japan’s prospects post-carry trade
Finland’s Ilmarinen goes back to basics
Talking Heads: Once one of the few funds that would enter bank risk recycling trades, recent overcrowding has seen it pivot to listed equities
Thames Water: a handy guide for worried counterparties
The UK’s largest water company – now junk-rated – has £1.3bn in swaps liabilities. Dealers ought to be safe, but face a host of headaches and questions
Vega peak was foothill in historic Nikkei selloff
JFSA scrutiny has curbed issuance of autocallables, so stock plunge generated light re-hedging
Fee compression threatens FX algo innovation
e-FX Forum: Bank algo heads say continued revenue pressures could stifle development
Euronext microwave link aims to cut HFT advantage in Europe
Exchange plans to level playing field between prop firms and banks in cash equities with cutting edge tech
Hidden Road ready for rush hour after FCM approval
Prime broker is trading “trillions” of notional with “a few hundred” counterparties in FX and crypto
How banks are adapting to all-powerful pod funds
Growth of multi-manager funds such as Citadel, Millennium and Balyasny has forced dealers to switch tactics in attempt to preserve profits
Inside BGC’s quiet move into agency broking
The interdealer broker’s Caventor Capital arm is pitching a hands-on service for hedge funds, filling what it sees as a gap left by large banks
MTS shuts euro swap venue
Would-be challenger to Tradeweb and Bloomberg is said to have closed less than ten months after launch
Mirfendereski joins MUFG as inflation head
Former HSBC inflation chief joins Japanese bank in London after study break