Environment-Renewables
Demystifying credit risk
Measurement
Losses and lawsuits
LOSS DATABASE
Strategic shortcomings
A survey of 13 private banks’ risk management practices reveals some dangerous shortcomings. Lisa Kastigar of Sherwood Alliance, a Switzerland-based financial consulting firm, examines the challenges for risk managers at these institutions
Running for cover
Energy
Weather derivatives to buck energy trading downturn, says report
Weather derivatives have a promising future, despite troubles in the energy merchants sector, according to a report by New York-based energy consultancy RJ Rudden Associates.
UK investor fears seem overdone, regulator says
It is right that regulators look hard at the UK’s regulatory regime to see whether improvements are needed to prevent a fraudulent attempt to inflate corporate earnings for personal gain, the UK’s chief financial regulator said today.
Aquila backs Feinstein energy trading proposals
Missouri-based energy company Aquila today said it strongly supports Senator Dianne Feinstein's proposal for more aggressive Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight of energy derivatives trading.
Sapient
Technology
Insurers embrace risk systems
Insurance companies have been slower than banks to adopt advanced risk modelling techniques and technologies. But regulatory changes and business exigencies are spurring them to adopt a new generation of risk and capital management systems.
Firms Voice Frustration over FSA Continuity Plans
Firms say "toothless" disaster recovery guidelines will result in inconsistent plans.
CLNs come of age
Technical
Boom time for distressed debt
Distressed debt
European telcos: mixed signals
Credit of the month
Fully operational
Modeling, measuring and hedging operational risk by Marcelo Cruz Wiley Finance 330 pages, £49.39 ISBN 0-471-51560-4
Fitch first to report CDO exposure to WorldCom
New York-based Fitch is the first rating agency to report WorldCom exposures on the collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) it has rated.
Q1 scapegoats: energy and weather
Risk’s second quarterly round-up of corporate risk disclosures provides some evidence that companies are becoming more forthcoming. But losses on hedgeable exposures, especially energy and weather, continued to plague many
A crisis of identity
Recent news stories have highlighted a controversy over identification of the specific reference entity in certain credit derivatives contracts. Troubling as this is, it reflects a more pervasive lack of discipline among financial institutions. In this…
Insurers embrace risk systems
Insurance companies have been slower than banks to adopt advanced risk modelling techniques and technologies. But regulatory changes and business exigencies are spurring them to adopt a new generation of risk and capital management systems
Swiss Re closes first round of catastrophe risk securitisation
Swiss Re Capital Markets has closed the first round of an innovative $2 billion natural catastrophe risk securitisation programme. The multi-peril, multi-year programme is known as Pioneer 2002, according to a catastrophe risk investor, who wished to…