News
DrKW names new head of convertible asset swap trading
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has appointed Yannick Naud as head of convertible asset swap trading in London.
Thomson reorganises in Europe and targets low-cost data provision
Thomson Financial Europe has promoted its sales and trading head, Donal Smith, to the newly created position of chief operating officer as part of a reorganisation today that centralises sales, application and product management, and customer services…
Julius Baer offers alternative to options hedging
Switzerland’s Bank Julius Baer is expanding its equity product range by introducing investments that give downside capital protection by imitating options hedging on a portfolio.
Regulators call on banks to focus on cross-border e-banking risks
BASEL - Banks need to integrate cross-border electronic banking risks into their overall risk management framework, the Basel Committee said in a paper released today.
Japanese CDOs hit record levels, but investors may receive raw deal
The issuance of Japanese collateralised debt obligations could hit a record ¥3 trillion ($25 billion) this year, but investors may not be receiving enough spread for the risks they face, according to a report this week by Moody’s Investors Service.
Gensec structures first South African weather derivatives contract
ZZ2 Ceres, one of South Africa’s largest fruit and vegetables businesses, has become the first company in the country to use weather derivatives. Its frost protection contract was structured by Gensec Bank, and runs from October 14 to November 30 2002…
Japanese credit default swaps liquidity dries up
Trading in credit default swaps in Japan remained largely directionless this week in the absence of any significant end-client flow, and amid continued uncertainty regarding the government’s plans for the country’s ailing banks.
Cost of protection for Sears surges following poor earnings
The cost of credit protection for US retailer and financial services group Sears sharply widened 150 basis points to 400/480bp, following a negative earnings statement yesterday. Worsening problems with credit-card debt prompted Sears to report a…
British TV companies to use innovative structured equity in merger
A new kind of convertible share that includes path-dependent optionality will be offered to investors as part of the merger plans of UK commercial television companies Granada and Carlton Communications.
DBS pair scoop Asia Risk risk manager of the year award
Two risk managers at the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) have picked up Asia Risk’s first risk manager of the year award. Oon Kum Loon, who was head of group risk management at the bank until July, and is now chief financial officer, shared the award…
Samsung Securities poaches Goldman specialist Choi
Korea’s Samsung Securities has poached Alex Choi from Goldman Sachs to head its newly established capital markets division in Seoul. Choi was previously executive director for liabilities management at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong.
BarCap lures forex structurer Siddiqi from Deutsche
Barclays Capital, the investment banking unit of Barclays, has lured Lutfey Siddiqi from Deutsche Bank to work as its global head of foreign exchange structuring.
Schachter quits Caxton for Sac Capital Advisors
Barry Schachter, a prominent name in the financial engineering industry, has left his position as head of enterprise-wide risk management at hedge fund Caxton Corporation to work for rival Sac Capital Advisors.
BNP Paribas closes eighth Japan synthetic CDO via Serena Finance
French bank BNP Paribas has closed an arbitrage synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) referenced to a portfolio of credit default swaps worth a total notional amount of ¥144 billion ($1.16 billion), according to Stéphane Delacote, the bank’s…
Credit Agricole in risk and derivatives hiring spree
French bank Credit Agricole Indosuez has added a number of hires to its fixed-income and risk groups, following the restructuring of its fixed-income department in early September. Marc Romano and Vincent Fleury join the French bank as co-heads of its…
Dynegy exits trading and cuts jobs
Dynegy became the latest big-name US energy company to confirm its withdrawal from the worldwide energy-trading arena in October, as attempts to find a partner for its trading business failed.
Deutsche Bank reveals role in 9/11 liquidity facility
Michael Reuther, global head of funding at Deutsche Bank, has revealed today how the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York created an emergency €50 billion ‘synthetic’ liquidity facility in the wake of last year’s World Trade…
BIS seeks replacement for Crockett
BASEL - The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the so-called central bankers' central bank, said in September it had set up a committee to help find a replacement for BIS general manager Andrew Crockett who leaves the bank at the end of March next…
Macquarie buys Merrill's Australian instalment warrants business
Australia's Macquarie Bank has purchased the instalment warrants business of Merrill Lynch following the restructuring of the US bank's Australian operations.
Equities rally brings in cost of US and European debt protection
A strong rebound in world equity markets during the early part of this week has caused the cost of credit protection on US and European institutions to markedly narrow. The contraction in credit spreads this week nearly matched the widening seen last…
ING hires head of Asian hedge fund sales
ING Financial Markets, a unit of ING Group, has hired Daren Riley as global head of Asian hedge fund sales. Riley took up his new position last week.
Reuters bullish on risk systems sales
UK information and technology services provider Reuters believes the outlook for its treasury systems sales is positive, despite the overall downturn in the financial markets.
Merrill ousts European debt derivatives head Chattwell
Merrill Lynch has ousted its European head of fixed income and foreign exchange derivatives, Kevin Chattwell, as part of the US investment bank’s efforts to flatten its senior management structure.
OpVantage releases latest OpVar software
OpVantage has released an updated version of its OpVar operational risk management software.