Moody’s Investors Service
Basel II helps German banks focus on risk, says Moody's
A renewed focus on profitability and strategic refocusing among German banks leads Moody’s Investors Service to believe that “the country's banks will not undergo a systemic crisis”, the rating agency said in a report on the German banking sector,…
US and European credit derivatives markets remain muted
Default protection costs continue to tighten in both the US and the European credit default swap market in line with the cash market, traders said today, adding that volumes continue to remain relatively muted, particularly in the European markets.
El Paso exits energy trading
US energy company El Paso announced plans to quit the energy trading business today as continued problems in the sector led it to post a third-quarter loss.
Moody's publishes CDO hedge counterparty guidlines
Rating agency Moody's Investors Service today said it has published a series of guidelines outlining the steps by which a collateralised debt obligation (CDO) hedge counterparty can better detach its own credit risk from the CDO itself.
Scor spreads widen 350bp after firm reveals €38m credit derivatives losses
The cost of senior debt protection on Scor ballooned to 850/1,000 basis points over Libor today, after the French reinsurer revealed, yesterday that it would make a net loss of €250 million this year, following major losses in credit derivatives and…
HypoVereinsbank protection costs widen after poor Q3 results
Poor third-quarter results released by HypoVereinsbank on Wednesday prompted the cost of credit protection for the German banking group’s senior, five-year debt to widen 30 basis points to 140/165bp by trading mid-session today. HypoVereinsbank’s net…
ABB protection no longer available on a client-only basis
Credit protection on the debt of ABB is no longer available even on a client-only basis, major dealers said 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.
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…
JP Morgan Chase in major ramp-up of portfolio management technology
JP Morgan Chase has assigned the largest chunk of its IT budget for the next two years to overhauling its portfolio management infrastructure, according to the US bank’s head of portfolio management Blythe Masters.
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 …
Weak equity markets continue to fuel widening in European credit spreads
Equity weakness continued to dominate the direction of European credit default swaps, pushing the cost of protection wider for volatile insurers and telecoms.
Rabobank defends its credit rating following downgrade
Dutch financial services co-operative Rabobank has defended its credit position following a one-notch downgrade by rating agency Fitch Ibca.
Rating agencies divided over Aquila’s credit-worthiness
The two major rating agencies are divided over their assessment of troubled energy company Aquila, with Moody’s cutting its rating to junk and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) maintaining its investment-grade standing.
Moody’s downgrades Aquila, as project BBB+/Baa1 backfires
Moody's Investors Service yesterday lowered Aquila’s senior unsecured debt rating to non-investment grade with a stable outlook, from Baa3 to Ba2. The troubled Missouri-based energy company had hoped to maintain its investment grade rating, exiting the…
US banks review legal options against operational risk charge
WASHINGTON - US opponents of capital charges as a protection for banks against operational risk are not giving up the fight following the reaffirmation by global banking regulators of their faith in such charges.
Moody's report confirms European CDO growth
Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service said the European collateralised debt obligation (CDO) market grew by 46% in the first half of 2002, compared with the corresponding period of last year. Moody’s rated 72 CDO transactions in the first half of the…
Australian structured finance market to pick up in H2, says Moody's
International rating agency Moody's believes the Australian structured finance market will pick up in the second half of the year following a drop in such deals during the first six months of this year.
Regulators grow confident about Basel II calendar
Global banking regulators were expected to issue an upbeat statement in mid-July on progress with the controversial Basel II bank accord after several months of uncertainty in which some bankers doubted the accord would ever see the light of day.
Capital charges not enough to protect banks against op risk, says Moody’s
Protective capital is an incomplete line of defence against operational risk and effective op risk measurement and management should amount to more than just a capital allocation exercise enforced by regulators, a leading credit rating agency said in…
S&P set to change BT debt outlook to stable from negative, says BT employee
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s is set to raise British Telecom’s (BT's) A- rating from ‘negative outlook’ to ‘stable outlook’, said a senior BT employee late yesterday.
Op risk is much more than a capital allocation exercise, says Moody's
Moody's Investors Service said banks should treat operational risk management as much more than just another regulatory capital allocation exercise. In a special report, the international rating agency said capital is "an incomplete line of defence"…
Update: Fitch calls for notching debate
Fitch Ratings today called for an open forum debate on the practice of collateralised debt obligation notching. Fitch released a report yesterday slamming its rival Moody’s for notching bonds in CDOs that Moody’s did not originally rate. Fitch claims the…
Fitch hits back at Moody's in CDO ratings row
Rating agency Fitch moved to defend its standing in the collateralised debt obligation (CDO) rating market by slating the ‘notching’ practices used by rival rating agency Moody’s in a formal report yesterday.