BNP Paribas
Delayed trac-x Europe launches today
Trac-x Europe, part of a family of credit default swap indexes being assembled by JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, debuted trading today. A funded format is due to start trading the week of June 30. This follows a delay of about six weeks.
UBS Warburg to join CJ 50 index
UBS Warburg has become the fifth credit derivatives dealer to contribute to the CJ 50 index, a joint venture product that tracks Japan's 50 most liquid credit default swaps.
More dealers sign up to new credit derivatives matching service
BNP Paribas, Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman Sachs and UBS Warburg are the latest dealers to sign up to a new global credit default swap (CDS) matching service, which the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) plans to launch…
Fujitsu spreads widen 30bp due to multiple woes
Credit default swap spreads on Japanese computer maker Fujitsu’s five-year debt protection widened 30 basis points this week, following media speculation that the company might become a “rehabilitation candidate” for the government’s Industrial…
BNP Paribas hires Australian credit specialist from Deutsche
French banking group BNP Paribas has hired Pierre Katerdjian to join its credit and rates marketing group in Australia. Katerdjian, who joins from Deutsche Bank where he traded Australian credit derivatives, will start on June 2.
Sony hit by poor earnings reports and downgrade threat
Credit default swap spreads on Japan’s largest consumer and electronics group, Sony, widened further this week, following weaker than expected earnings results and the potential threat of a downgrade by Moody’s Investor Services, say traders.
Trac-x gains market maker support
BNP Paribas has signed up to make markets in the Trac-x Europe credit default swaps index initiative established by JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley. Other major dealers are also looking into offering market making services in Trac-x products, with…
Japanese credit spreads tighten to near-record levels
Japanese credit default swap spreads continued to tighten on technical factors, nearly reaching record levels, with trading volumes on the whole fairly subdued, according to traders.
Japan credit spreads tighten as Iraqi conflict draws to a close
Credit protection on Japanese names continued a tightening trend this week, on the back of positive sentiment globally with the war in Iraq nearing a close and the absence of negative news in the domestic market.
Debate and controversy mark Op Risk 2003 events
Delegates at the fifth annual Operational Risk and Risk magazine operational risk conferences in London and New York this March were treated to what one speaker described as a "smorgasboard" of discussions on the subject. Attendees could choose from…
BNP Paribas hires Hong Kong-based securitisation specialist from Fitch
BNP Paribas has hired Sunny Park as a Hong Kong-based associate director and structured credit research analyst. She is due to start work at the French bank this week, and was previously an analyst in the structured finance division of credit rating…
EIB to outsource derivatives collateral management
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the financing institution of the European Union, is set to outsource its derivatives collateral management activities to Dutch bank ABN Amro.
Pension deficit concern sparks demand for default protection
Traders saw a marked increase in volumes for credit protection, following a credit watch alert by rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on 12 major European corporations earlier today. S&P today warned that the companies, including Sainsbury’s, Rolls…
BNP Paribas to launch multi-dealer Japanese credit index
French Bank BNP Paribas is preparing to launch a new credit index in Japan that tracks the 50 most liquid Japanese names in the country’s credit default swap market.
BNP Paribas to launch managed synthetic CDO in Japan
French bank BNP Paribas is on the verge of closing a ¥140 billion ($1.19 billion) managed synthetic collateralised debt obligation (CDO) with Japanese asset management firm Daiichi Life-IBJ Asset Management (DIAM). Expected to close in mid-February, the…
BNP to launch European power trading desk
BNP Paribas today said it plans to start a European powertrading desk as part of its energy and commodity business.
BNP to offer derivatives based on S&P Hedge Fund Index
BNP Paribas has been granted a licence by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to deliver derivatives products linked to the S&P Hedge Fund Index. BNP is the first bank to be given permission to develop derivatives based on the index.
iBoxx licenses indexes for exchange-traded funds
Frankfurt-based indexing company iBoxx and Pennsylvania-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) company iShares have struck a deal to license iBoxx indexes as the basis for European fixed-income ETFs to be launched on Deutsche Börse. The new products are…
Credit protection for European telecoms continues to tighten
The cost of credit protection for European telecoms continued to tighten this week, led by France Telecom and boosted by an S&P upgrade for the Netherlands' KPN yesterday. Elsewhere in Europe, spreads remained tight with little movement, including those…
Natexis hit by heavy equity derivatives losses
French bank Natexis Banques Populaires has made significant losses from its equity derivatives trading business due to poor risk control and failures in the bank’s valuation models.
Kosda to launch benchmark CMS index
The Korean Swaps Dealers Association (Kosda) plans to launch a benchmark constant maturity swap (CMS) fixing index in December, according to Seung Won Hwang, head of derivatives marketing at Citibank and co-chairman of Kosda.
BNP Paribas looks for new interest rate derivatives trading head
BNP Paribas is looking for a head of interest rate derivatives trading for Asia-Pacific, following the departure of Monty Agarwal in mid-October.
Unsystematic credit risk
Although Basel has shifted its treatment of unsystematic credit risk from the first, capital rules pillar (where it was called the ‘granularity adjustment’) to the second, supervisory pillar of the forthcoming Accord, this issue is of great practical…
Deutsche Bank credit protection trades wider following Q3 losses
The cost of senior debt protection for Deutsche Bank has crept 5 basis points wider to 58bp-mid after the bank posted a third-quarter net loss of €299 million. In otherwise thin markets, credit derivatives traders in London said active buyers of…