Credit Suisse
Avoiding pro-cyclicality
David Cosandey and Urs Wolf argue that, for small to medium-sized enterprises, Basel II is pro-cyclical because of a double-counting of the risks. They present two main directions for possible capital rules that would circumvent the pro-cyclicality…
Protection spreads on European bank debt begin to narrow
The cost of credit protection for European banks started to contract this morning following a week of unprecedented spread widening across the sector.
Commerzbank credit protection costs double in a week
The cost of credit protection for Commerzbank has nearly doubled over the last week. The widening follows rumours of large credit derivatives trading losses at the German bank and a cut in its long-term credit rating from A to A- yesterday from Standard …
CSFB launches fixed-income indexes on Bloomberg
Swiss bank Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) has released its Liquid Global fixed-income indexes on data vendor Bloomberg's data terminals. CSFB clients will be able to access all of CSFB's liquid bond indexes, including the Liquid US Corporate Index …
Credit spreads for European financial debt protection widen
The cost of credit protection for European banks has widened significantly this week as negative fundamentals dominated market sentiment. Five-year credit default swaps for major European banks widened between 1 to 10 basis points for senior protection…
CSFB reorganises derivatives structuring teams in Asia
Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) has reorganised its derivatives structuring teams in Asia in an effort to more closely integrate all areas of the business. As part of the move, the various derivatives structuring groups will now report to a single head…
Lehman Brothers hires Asian head of equities
Lehman Brothers has hired Timothy Throsby as managing director and head of equities for Asia.
Lazard hires Stonehill to build capital markets business
The investment banking unit of New York-headquartered Lazard has hired Charles Stonehill as London-based global head of its capital markets businesses, a newly created position.
US credit protection narrows following Wall Street equity rally
The price of credit default swaps for major US names tightened this week following two days of equity purchasing on Wall Street.
Letter to the Editor: Forbearance measures needed for Basel II
Wilson Ervin and I published an article in Risk last year on the danger that the Basel II proposed reforms of bank capital will lead to procyclicality, ie, pressure on banks to sell assets or raise capital at inopportune times, due to the risk…
US agency forms working group on Basel II’s third pillar
A working group of financial services industry members and regulators is being formed by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to recommend a four-point disclosure policy for the third pillar of the Basel II bank Accord.
BBSP launches FX implied volatility forecasting
French technical analyst forecasting company BBSP has launched a service that charts and forecasts implied volatilities for currencies, officials at the firm said.
DrKW names Harata new head of rates trading in Tokyo
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) has hired Jun Harata as managing director and head of interest rate derivatives trading in Japan.
A cost/benefit approach to Basel II
The cost of implementing Basel II could put banks at a competitive disadvantage compared with non-banks, and spur them to ‘de-bank’ to avoid this regulatory burden. Harry Stordel and Andrew Cross say regulators must look at the provisions from a cost…
Measuring the Unexpected
The events of Sept. 11 brought increased attention and confusion to the practice of managing operational risk.
Derivatives expert Calello made new head of CSFB Asia-Pacific
Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) has named Paul Calello chairman and chief executive of the Asia-Pacific region including Japan, Australia and New Zealand. He will relocate to Hong Kong from New York, where he was head of the firm's global equity…
CSFB hires structurer in NY
Tony Capozzoli has joined Credit Suisse's investment banking arm, CSFB, in New York as a corporate structurer, leaving his role as a senior risk analyst at Bank of America, also on Wall Street.
Calls mount for bank and rating agency disclosure on Enron
Leaders of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday called on 10 investment banks and three credit-rating agencies to turn over records linked to Enron. Questions to the banks focused on loans to Enron and whether future business with Enron…
Changes afoot at rating agencies
Rating agencies are under fire once again, this time for failing to anticipate Enron’s bankruptcy. But they are looking to improve their methodology. What do the changes mean for banks that will have to rely on their ratings under Basel II?
FSA's new rules turn up heat on risk managers
The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has caused a stir in the upper ranks of London-based investment banks with new rules that effectively force senior executives to accept unlimited liability for risk management errors.
CSFB closes precious metals business
Leading global investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston is to close its London, New York and Sydney precious metals market-making and structured derivatives, clearing and vaulting businesses.
Pro-cyclicality in the new Basel Accord
Could Basel II worsen recessions? By backtesting the proposed capital rules to the last recession, D. Wilson Ervin and Tom Wilde argue that the increased risk sensitivity of loan portfolio regulatory capital in the new Accord could have unwelcome…
Probing granularity
The granularity adjustment, which adjusts risk weightings for credit portfolio diversification, is one of Basel II’s key modelling assumptions. Here, Tom Wilde uncovers a weakness in this assumption arising from the differences in the underlying credit…