Credit Derivatives
Shah leaves exotic options role at Goldman Sachs
Nikki Shah is believed to have left the industry
Counterparty risk is driving industry change
The question of counterparty risk is leading to some significant changes in the foreign exchange business, chiefly in introducing innovative ways to manage this risk.
Capital controls hamper króna's comeback
REYKJAVIK - Iceland re-floated its currency last week but existing capital controls continue to drive away interest in króna trading.
'Veneer of homogeneity' hides cross-asset minefield
LONDON - Cross-asset electronic trading is still underdeveloped, according to Jeremy Smart, global head of electronic foreign exchange sales at Morgan Stanley.
ETP boom fuels concern over counterparty risk
GLOBAL - Issuance of currency-linked exchange-traded products (ETPs) has soared in the past year, but concerns are emerging over the counterparty risks inherent in these products.
RBS launches new forex index
LONDON - RBS launched FX Radar Index, an automated index linked to 20 emerging market currencies, on October 1.
NAB grows structured products in Asia
SINGAPORE - National Australia Bank's investment bank, nabCapital, has hired Peter Zeitsch as a director to build a structured products business in Singapore.
Barings launches new currency fund
LONDON - Baring Asset Management is set to launch a currency fund that will offer an alternative source of alpha and diversification to target institutional investors and funds of hedge funds.
Another good quarter for FX
BOSTON & NEW YORK - US dealers posted record second-quarter revenues from foreign exchange business, as volatility remained high over the period.
Banks and hedge funds spur growth in OIS trading
LONDON & NEW YORK - Central bank activity has contributed towards a surge in trading overnight index swaps (OIS) over the past year, according to dealers.
Automated FX trading models provide diversified alpha
David Popplewell, director of currency structuring at RBS in London, says to look beyond carry baskets and actively managed foreign exchange allocation to generate alpha from FX
BoA hires London forex duo
LONDON - Bank of America (BoA) is hitting back after making severe cuts to its foreign exchange team in January by boosting its sales and trading franchise in London with two senior hires.
Death by association
The application of credit technology to diverse underlyings led to the birth of collateralised foreign exchange obligations in 2006. But despite being built from uncorrelated underlyings, their fortunes have proven highly correlated with the wider market…
Record FX returns no compensation for continuing subprime losses
BOSTON & NEW YORK - Record foreign exchange revenues have proved no match for the credit crisis, with billion-dollar writedowns causing two major banks to report big first-quarter losses in their fixed-income divisions this week.
US trading revenues plummet in 2007
NEW YORK - US commercial banks recorded $5.5 billion in trading revenues in 2007, down $13.3 billion from the record of $18.8 billion set in 2006, according to a report published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last week (April 2).
Choosing the right carry strategy
Nikki Marmery reports on the proliferation of carry trade indexes and outlines the key differences between the main banks' offerings
Seeking a sterling collapse
By Pete Luxton, global markets adviser, and Dave Willmer, foreign exchange options market strategist, at Informa Global Markets in London
Reduced growth will fuel FX competition
As the market gears up for a fresh year of activity, Patrick Lefler, FX consultant at Wall Street Systems, predicts the key FX market developments in 2008
FX adds shine to banks' Q4 results
BOSTON & NEW YORK - State Street's acquisition of Currenex led the US bank to a strong 2007 fourth-quarter performance, despite the year's subprime woes.