News
Banks see sharp slowdown in equity derivatives business
Falling equity derivatives revenues have hit bank earnings in the second quarter this year, as a decline in merger and acquisitions (M&A) activity saw less corporate demand for equity derivatives.
London's gilt repo market set for liquidity increase, says LCH
Liquidity in the UK gilt repo market should increase dramatically next month, when the London Clearing House (LCH) steps in as central counterparty, according to John Burke, director of LCH's RepoClear service.
WestLB to adopt Citigroup FX settlement service
Germany's WestLB has subscribed to Citigroup’s e-business CLS (continuous-linked settlement) settlement services for foreign exchange settlement. The deal will allow WestLB to offer CLS settlement services to its German savings bank and Landesbank…
Globex glitch grounds CME's Eagle platform
The maiden flight of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's (CME) Eagle (electronic arbitrage Globex liquidity enhancer) platform has been delayed until October due to problems with Globex, the CME's electronic trading platform, which supports Eagle.
FSA fairly confident of ‘sensible’ op risk charge for investment firms
UK regulators are reasonably confident operational risk capital charges for investment firms proposed under new European Union (EU) rules will be “sensible”, the UK’s chief financial regulator said today.
Banks will get Basel II survey spreadsheets tomorrow
Some 300 banks in 36 countries will tomorrow receive draft spreadsheets and an information pack relating to the crucial QIS 3 survey for the complex Basel II bank capital Accord, global banking regulators said today.
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.
SuperDerivatives to introduce equity derivatives pricing system
SuperDerivatives, a London-based company offering pricing systems for currency options, has said it is planning to expand its business by launching an equity derivatives pricing system. It said an accepted market price for equity derivatives dealers…
Basel II principles can fit insurers, UK regulator says
The principles of risk-based regulation embodied in the Basel II bank pact can be applied successfully to insurance companies, the UK’s chief financial regulator said today.
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.
Tremont appoints UK managing director
Tremont Advisors, a consulting and information provider for the alternative investment business, has hired Rupert Allan as managing director of its UK subsidiary Tremont TASS (Europe). Allan will oversee all marketing and business development for Tremont…
Credit Markets Update: High correlation to equity markets continues
The credit default swap market continued to see significant volatility and trading activity in Europe this week, as the high degree of correlation to the equity markets persisted, according to traders in London today.
S&P acquires Default Filter from IQ Financial
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has acquired the Default Filter credit risk management assets from risk management software company IQ Financial Systems.
Invesco to use JP Morgan Chase's TradeStarr to reduce op risk
Invesco Asset Management – the UK fund arm of Amvescap, which has about $400 billion in funds under management – is to use JP Morgan Chase’s trade settlement tracking and relative ranking (TradeStarr) service to statistically rank the settlement…
UBS Warburg unveils North American interest rate and FX hires
UBS Warburg has hired Glenn Taitz and William Ludington as executive directors in its North American interest rate and foreign exchange divisions. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, the pair will report to Michael Ice, head of marketing and structuring of…
Goldman restructures credit derivatives sales
Goldman Sachs has restructured its North American credit derivatives sales team to focus on its 40 largest clients.
UK details three-phase Basel II implementation plan
UK regulators said today they plan a three-phase implementation of the Basel II capital Accord and parallel European Union banking rules with a target date of December 31, 2006.
Principia Partners boosts staff for global expansion
New Jersey-based financial technology provider, Principia Partners, is increasing its sales and marketing staff. The recruitment drive is part of a global expansion strategy for its global capital markets front-to-back office system, which supports…
One-fifth of Hong Kong investors will consider hedge funds
Around one-fifth of Hong Kong investors that currently invest in traditional mutual funds said they may buy hedge funds, following the Special Administrative Region’s decision in May to open up the hedge fund market to retail investors, according to a…
MSCI hedge fund index offers 10% better return than equities
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), the provider of benchmark indexes for financial institutions, has released the first performance data for its newly established family of hedge fund indexes. The results were compiled from back-dated data…
Icor plans to offer electronic rate swaps at year-end
Electronic interdealer broker Icor plans to offer dollar-denominated interest rate swaps at the turn of the year. The New York-based broker, 50% owned by global information services company Reuters, currently trades only foreign exchange options.
GFI obtains $50 million credit line to support derivatives business
GFI Group, a New-York based provider of software, brokerage and data services to the derivatives and cash markets, has obtained a new $50 million credit facility, consisting of a $30 million revolving credit facility and a $20 million term loan. This…
SG prepares fund of hedge funds for Hong Kong retail investors
SG Securities, a unit of France’s Société Générale, is preparing to launch a new capital guaranteed fund on a basket of global hedge funds by the fourth quarter of the year, according to the unit's Hong Kong-based managing director for equity derivatives…
DrKW takes ex-Deutsche quartet for securities lending team
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has hired Fredrik Carstens, Anthony Frieze, Alison Briggs and Jay Schreyer to its newly-created agency securities lending team.