News

JPMorgan Chase used Repo 105, the notorious accounting practice employed by Lehman Brothers to keep $50 billion worth of debt off its balance sheet in early 2008, the Financial Times has reported. The use of the practice by Lehman Brothers was uncovered by court-appointed examiner Anton Valukas, who criticized its use as a misleading "accounting gimmick" in his investigation into the collapse of the bank.It has now been revealed that JPMorgan Chase also employed the practice between 2001 and... more

 

Lloyds Banking Group has forecast that it is to have a profitable 2010 following a positive start to the year.Last month, the British bank posted a £6.3 billion ($9.6 billion) loss in its results for 2009, only a minor improvement on the £6.7 billion deficit of 2008.When announcing the company's annual results, chief executive officer Eric Daniels said he expected a "slow, below trend, economic recovery", while also stating that Lloyds is successfully addressing its short-term challenges.But... more

 

Lenny Dykstra, a former baseball player with the New York Mets, has launched a law suit against JPMorgan alleging that the investment bank reneged on loan commitments. According to the filing, the star is claiming as much as $100 million in damages after he attempted to purchase a property in California owned by hockey player Wayne Gretzky. The former sports player is thought to have received a guaranteed $17.5 million mortgage from Washington Mutual (WaMU), which was subsequently acquired by... more

 

Tidjane Thiam, chief executive officer (CEO) of Prudential, has been criticised by shareholders at the insurer for taking on a new role as a non-executive director at Société Générale. The CEO is currently guiding the insurance firm through one of the biggest capital right issues ever undertaken to fund the $35.5 billion takeover of AIG's Asian offshoot. Prudential is hoping to raise up to $21 billion from the issue as part of the deal, which some shareholders have criticised as being too... more

 

The Greek Finance Ministry has denied reports that it will call on the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help reduce its debt. George Papaconstantinou, Greece’s finance minister, told Reuters that the story was “ridiculous”. “We have said from the beginning that all options are open ... we are not any closer now to the IMF (than before). These reports are just plain silly."However, Greece’s prime minister George Papandreou told European leaders earlier in the week... more

 

A new bonus scheme proposed by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) could lead to the bank’s chief executive officer (CEO) Stephen Hester receiving more than £4 million. Details of the initiative were included in the bank’s annual report for 2009. The long-term incentive scheme will be linked to the firm’s economic performance over a three-year period and could see top executives awarded with more than four times their salary. Proposals will be put before shareholders at the financial... more

 

Tullett Prebon has triumphed in a legal case which claimed a rival firm had been poaching its top staff. Tony Verrier and Shaun Lynn, senior executives at BCG Partners, were found guilty of conspiring against the interdealer broker by a judge at the Royal Courts of Justice, London. The former is thought to have led a conspiracy to steal staff from Tullet Prebon after he joined the company in January 2009. BCG sought to acquire as many as 90 staff members by using false constructive dismissal... more

 

• Global Association of Risk Professionals hosts Dubai Chapter Meeting• Forum hosted By GARP and FRSGlobal • Back to basics is the call as a response to the current crisis in UAE Regional experts from the global financial risk management industry have cited that the first response to the crisis should be back to basics. At the chapter meeting titled “Recent Lessons in Risk Management,” held in Dubai on March 17, 2010, the discussion ranged from why, what, how of the current crisis to... more

Steve Moreton to head up CJC’s Asia operationsCJC, the leading independent market data consultancy, today announced its expansion into Asia Pacific with the opening of its first office in the region, in Hong Kong’s Central business area. CJC has experienced mounting interest for its consultancy service and a huge demand for market data hosting services from buy- and sell-side institutions throughout Asia and Australasia. The new office will allow CJC to deliver support to both new and... more

Officials at Merrill Lynch warned US regulators about incorrect accounting taking place at Lehman Brothers in the months before its collapse, it has been reported.Company insiders told the Financial Times that Merrill Lynch staff contacted both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Federal Reserve in March 2008 about Lehman Brothers using questionable methods to improve the state of its balance sheet.The move was made by Merrill Lynch in response to claims from Lehman Brothers... more

 

DBFS, whose flagship Fund of Hedge Fund product is Asset+, further expands its consultancy offering within the scope of Investment Operations.Paul Savage, lead consultant says ‘Our consultants can review and advise on the whole operational process from policy and process design to optimisation and implementation. We also conduct operational risk reviews highlighting key risk areas, mitigations and future internal risk measures’ ‘DBFS offers an end to end business operational process... more

Examines emerging market hazards, critical new requirements, and integration best practices for top-tier enterprise risk management platformsTriple Point Technology®, the leading provider of multi-market commodity and enterprise risk management software solutions, announced today that Douglas Daugherty, the company’s vice president of gas technical services, will moderate a roundtable discussion of senior risk executives at Energy Risk Priorities 2010 in The Woodlands, Texas, March 23-24.... more

Sean Walker has been named partner at the national financial services recruiting firm The Bowdoin Group. In his new role, Walker will continue to direct the company’s industry-leading financial and information services divisions, and be tasked with expanding its firm-wide retained business. “Sean is a fantastic leader and recruiter, and a great person,” says David Melville, CEO and Founder of The Bowdoin Group. “We’re excited about this next phase in his immensely successful career at... more

Lehman Brothers sacked a worker who pointed out the bank's dubious accounting practices to auditor Ernst&Young, it has been alleged.Matthew Lee, a senior vice-president in Lehman Brothers' finance division, sent an email to the auditor on May 16th 2008 outlining six separate allegations of unethical accounting.This included the Repo 105 transactions, which have recently been described as an "accounting gimmick" that allowed the bank to hide $50 billion worth of debts from the company's balance... more

 

Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has stated the regulator needs to be given a chance to prove it has learned from the mistakes that resulted in the financial crisis taking place under its watch.Speaking to the House Financial Services Committee, Mr Bernanke said that plans to limit the central bank's regulatory powers to apply to only larger banks are misguided.He stated that being responsible for regulating smaller banks as well allows the Fed to judge its monetary policy more... more

 

Newest Tactico Company Provides Broker-Centric Data & Account Management Solutions for Trading in Multiple MarketsVerticlear Inc, has opened its doors in North America to provide superior solutions for broker-dealers who are struggling with restrictive and costly data and account management products. The company’s initial products will include cross-market trade compression, accounts online management and a level one trading platform.“Small and mid-sized brokerage firms don’t get enough... more

Pricing Partners, the independent valuation expert and a world leader in mathematical models for valuations of derivatives and structured products, announced today that Auris Gestion Privée has selected the Price-it ® Online platform for the independent valuation of its structured products.Marc de Saint Denis, Chairman of Auris Gestion Privée commented: "Our company had been looking for a reliable and recognized solution for some time now. After carefully evaluating several tentative... more

Distribution Technology (DT), the UK's leading provider of financial planning and sales technology, launches the UK's first investment risk profiling application for the iPhone, Dynamic Planner® Risk Profiling.The launch was announced by Ben Goss, DT's CEO speaking at the Deloitte Technology Predictions seminar. DT is currently ranked number 1 in the Deloitte Fast 50 table of the fastest growing technology companies.The app provides advisers with a simple and intuitive way of educating their... more

Trayport® Exchange Systems today announced the addition of new oil contracts for Rack Fix, Float and Swap to the J-Oil Exchange (JOX). Trayport supplies JOX with its GlobalVision Exchange Trading SystemSM and the contracts added have extended the number traded on JOX to 609.JOX was established in 2001 as a market place in which traders could buy and sell physical spot (“dated”) and forward oil products and paper swaps. Based out of Singapore, it was set up as a new venture with... more

New partnerships add new vertical domain expertise for Panopticon visual monitoring and analysis implementations Panopticon Software, the leading provider of Treemap and Heatmap data visualization software for monitoring and fast analysis of operational data, today announced that it has expanded its partner network in order to provide a greater range of technical implementation options for different industrial sectors around the world. The new partners are: • Data Technology has over 22... more

A former banking executive has been charged with the embezzlement of more than $11 million from the US government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Charles Antonucci, previously employed as president and chief executive officer at the Park Avenue Bank of New York, provided the Treasury with false information to extricate the funds from the initiative. He faces a number of charges including bribery, fraud and self-dealing, the attorney’s office announced. The accused is alleged to have... more

Firms need to be prepared to take on “calculated risks” if they are to expand in the current economic climate, a leading researcher has claimed. Vinnie Aggarwal, chief economist at Frost & Sullivan, made the comments as part of an analysis of the markets and how businesses need to perform to increase profit levels during 2010. In his statement, the finance expert stated that opportunities for companies in Asia will continue to grow while Europe’s recovery from the financial crisis will be... more

 

A law suit has been brought against JPMorgan, UBS and Deutsche Bank in Italy accusing the institutions of selling fraudulent derivatives in Milan. Up to 13 representatives from a total of four banks have been ordered to stand trial by Judge Simone Luerti. The fraud is alleged to have occurred on a bonds swap worth €1.68 billion undertaken in 2005.Financial institutions involved are believed to have earned more than €100 million on irregularities from the trades. Lawyers working on behalf of... more

 

The European Commission (EC) has pledged to implement more legislation on credit default swaps (CDS) as part of regulatory reform for the financial services industry.According to the body, wide-ranging reforms could cover hedge funds, CDS and private equity as part of a strategy to increase confidence within the sector. Michel Barnier, EU internal markets commissioner, was quoted by iMarketnews.com, as saying that he hopes for a “good agreement” with the US and other nations on new... more

 

A former department head of Société Générale has launched a law suit against the bank for more than €11 million after the institution ended his contract, the prosecution has claimed. Raphael Geys previously worked for France’s second largest bank as the director of European fixed income sales before he was let go in November 2007. The manager was offered €7.9 million as an entitlement after the termination of his contract, a figure which he is now disputing in the High Court. Lawyers... more

 

New version for www.alphavalue.com : demonstration in free accessBy giving users the possibility of navigating live through the 450 companies it covers, AlphaValue is looking to capitalise fully on renewed interest in equity research.Users are offered unrestricted access to company profiles and can navigate through AlphaValue’s research universe and check its investment ideas in chart format. The launch of the new website is part of AlphaValue’s desire to enhance its reputation among... more

Rule Financial, the leading independent business and IT consultancy, announces the arrival today of DR CHRIS POTTS as its new Chief Executive Officer. Chris Potts joins Rule from his previous position as President and Chief Executive of 3i Infotech’s Western Europe operation. Rule Financial has experienced unprecedented rates of growth over the past three years, featuring in the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 for two consecutive years and expanding globally into Europe and the USA. ... more

 

60% of financial services firms say they are failing to keep business process documentation up to dateToday at the European Banking Forum, Nimbus, a leading provider of Business Process Improvement Solutions revealed the results of its FSA ARROW Audit survey – “Benchmark your Controls Effectiveness”. The research conducted in February 2010 amongst heads of risk, operations and compliance at UK based financial services organizations, asked participants how they document, control, measure... more

3i Infotech announces major enhancements to KASTLE™ Factoring solution 3i Infotech, a global provider of IT solutions, today completes the latest phase of its ongoing commitment to deliver functional enhancements, upgrades and wider market innovation to its European product suite. The milestone sees 3i Infotech realise a significant investment in its KASTLE™ Factoring solution for the receivables finance sector which has seen a real uptick in industry demand over the past twelve months,... more

The sons of Bernard Madoff have said they were victims of their father's $65 billion Ponzi scheme rather than accomplices to it.Andrew and Mark Madoff, along with Bernard Madoff's niece Shana, are being sued for $198 million by court-appointed trustee Irving Picard in allegations that state they were "completely derelict" in their duties at Madoff Investment Securities.But their lawyer Martin Flumenbaum said that the brothers were involved in only the legitimate aspects of the Madoff financial... more

 

Innovation, collaboration and service quality cited as reasons for long-running relationshipVirgin Trains has renewed its mainframe-to-desktop IT outsourcing contract with Capgemini UK plc in a multi-million pound contract for the three-year period to 2013. The contract is a further renewal of a relationship between the two companies that started in 1999, making it one of the longest-running IT outsourcing contracts in the UK.Capgemini will manage the entire IT infrastructure that supports core... more

Advent Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADVS), a leading provider of software and services for the global investment management industry, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with LIGHT[PORT], Inc., a leading provider of client web reporting solutions for asset managers and advisors. Through this alliance, LIGHT[PORT]’s solution is available to Advent clients using Advent Portfolio Exchange® (APX), Advent’s integrated portfolio and client relationship management solution, or... more

ERI is pleased to announce that Andbanc has chosen to use OLYMPIC Banking System for managing the private banking activities of its branch in Panama. This additional installation confirms the wave of success of OLYMPIC Banking System in Central America and the Caribbean. With this choice, Andbanc reinforces its confidence in OLYMPIC Banking System and opts for synergy between its head and branch offices. The security and comfort of a modern integrated system in real time capable of managing the... more

Opus to assist rapid service deployment of Western Union MMT interfaces with partnering Mobile Network Operators and Technology VendorsOpus Software Solutions, a leading provider of software solutions to the payments industry, has been selected as a System Integrator for Western Union’s Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) service. Opus will integrate partnering Mobile Network Operators (MNO) systems and technology vendor platforms with Western Union’s MMT interfaces globally.The Western Union MMT... more

edge IPK, a provider of insurance solutions which enable a secure, browser-based, internationalized presentation layer to provide all distribution channels an ideal user experience, today announced that Verex, a specialist in providing motor insurance to the UK automotive market, has chosen edgeConnect as part of a solution, integrated by ORIAC, that enables Verex to offer a range of branded insurance products directly to motor manufacturers, dealers and their customers. The initial project,... more

Canadian credit union to replace in-house core banking system with state-of-the-art service bureau solution from FiservFiserv Solutions of Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), announced today that V.P. Credit Union of Vancouver, British Columbia has chosen to implement its advanced Acumen™ account processing solution. V.P. Credit Union is the 14th organization in Canada to select Acumen since January 2008. Serving the employees of the Vancouver Police Board and other... more

GMAC is to hire the services of Citigroup and Goldman Sachs to help draw up a plan of how it can repay its Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout funding, it has been reported. The home and auto lender received $17.3 billion of state funding and Jim Millstein, the US Treasury's chief restructuring officer, advised GMAC last month that it should carry out an initial public offering to help repay its debts.According to a source close to the deal, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have been brought... more

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has come under fire for its role in the collapse of Lehman Brothers.It has been revealed by court-appointed examiner Anton Valukas, who conducted a year-long investigation into the failure of the financial institution, that the SEC knew in June 2008 that Lehman Brothers was overestimating the amount of liquid assets on its balance sheet.However, it took no action and the bank collapsed three months later.At the time, the SEC was focused on maintaining... more

 

British prime minister Gordon Brown has blocked plans to impose tougher regulations on the activities of hedge funds in Europe.The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) of the European Union (EU) was planning to discuss the implementation of the Alternative Investment Fund Manager directive yesterday (March 16th 2010) but plans for the talks were shelved.Earlier in the week, Mr Brown called Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish prime minister, to tell him the plans were... more

 

OptionsCity™ is pleased to announce the release of OptionsCity Metro 2.1. This latest release adds to its 2.0 milestone release and includes performance improvements to Metro’s server based low latency Quoting Engine, as well as major enhancements to the user interface to improve GUI responsiveness and intuitiveness. In this release, OptionsCity also exposed additional API (Application Programming Interface) functionality for clients integrating their proprietary systems and... more

Through a unique combination of three business lines - research, consulting and benchmarking - Cutter Associates works closely with asset managers to improve investment processing and make them more competitive. CutterBenchmarking member firms from North America and Europe voted the following topics as their 2010 priorities for benchmarking analysis: - Enterprise Architecture- Market Data- Performance and Attribution- Pricing and Valuation Cutter Associates is also pleased to announce overall... more

New white paper focuses on where the industry has been – and where it’s going in 2010Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced the availability of its newest white paper, “Investment Services Perspective – Market Trends for 2010 and Beyond.” The paper reviews what Fiserv anticipated in market trends for 2009 and provides an industry outlook for 2010. Even in the unprecedented market environment of 2009, Fiserv... more

ComFin, the forefront provider of energy & commodity trading and risk management solutions, has been placed among the top 5 ranked companies in many key categories in the annual Energy Risk Magazine Software Survey conducted in 2010. Approximately 34 vendors were listed in the survey.ComFin came second in Best Customer Service and Preferred System. It ranked third in Ease of using the System and was also top in categories such as Market Risk Oil, Operational Risk, Portfolio Management and Risk... more

Barclays bank considered taking over Swiss Bank UBS in the weeks leading up to its acquisition of failed institution Lehman Brothers, a newspaper report has claimed. Current and former directors at the bank told the Financial Times that senior executives gave a presentation to the board in July 2008 claiming that acquiring the Swiss financial institution would be a better option. However, Barclays instead opted to take over Lehman Brothers during September 2008 and agreed to pay $1.75 billion... more

 

A banker previously employed by Merrill Lynch International Bank (MLIB) has been banned for deliberately mismarking trades, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced. Alexis Stenfors, a former proprietary trader at MLIB working on the short term interest rate trading desk, was found to have mismarked positions on trades by $100 million to disguise losses, the industry regulator explained The banker’s actions led to MLIB making a negative adjustment of $456 million to its accounts.... more

 

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is considering repurchasing £10 billion worth of debt, a newspaper report has claimed. Unnamed sources close to the matter stated that the move is part of a bid by the company to boost its reputation among investors and restructure its debt, the Financial Times reported. The bank is expected to buy back the proportion of its £28 billion debt at premium prices. Bruce van Saun, finance director at RBS, is thought to be currently drawing up the final details of... more

 

Josef Ackermann, chief executive officer (CEO) at Deutsche Bank, earned € 9.55 million ($13 million) in pay and bonuses in 2009, the bank has announced. The eight members of the management board received a total of €38.98 million in 2009, the financial service provider revealed as part of its annual report for the year. However, up to 70 per cent of the CEO’s payment is to be deferred depending on the group’s future performance. Overall profit levels for the bank reached €5 billion and... more

 

Global investors are looking to the US and Japan rather than Europe for business opportunities, a new study has revealed. Findings from the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for March showed that more than a fifth of asset allocators are underweight in European equities. Up to 40 per cent of global investors questioned described the outlook for corporate profits in the eurozone as the least optimistic out of all the territories. In the regional part of the study, the number of European... more

 

A unit of investment bank Wells Fargo is in talks with the US Department of Justice to resolve allegations that failures in its controls allowed money to be laundered through the institution. An investigation into Wachovia Bank led by the US attorney's office in Miami has been ongoing for the past three years, the Wall Street Journal reported. This predates the acquisition of the business by Wells Fargo at the end of 2008. One of the bank’s units is believed to have processed money transfers... more

 

Multi-asset trading platform provider cuts software testing times in half using SilkTest and Agile development practicesMicro Focus® (LSE.MCRO.L), a leading provider of Enterprise Application Modernisation, Testing and Management solutions, today announced the successful deployment of its SilkTest automated functional testing software from Borland Software Corporation (a Micro Focus Company) by financial software provider Ariel Communications, a specialist in multi-asset trading platforms... more

Figures released today by the Office of National Statistics showed the number of Britons claiming unemployment benefits fell by 32,300, bringing the rate of unemployment down to 7.8%. This is the biggest monthly fall since 1997.Average earnings growth increased from 0.7% to 0.9% and long-term unemployment, which is based on those out of work for more than 1 year, rose by 11,000 to 134,000. Mark Bolsom, Head of the UK Trading Desk at Travelex, the world’s largest non-bank FX Specialist, said,... more

Migratory Data Systems today announced that its real-time web technology now guarantees delivery of messages for mission critical web applications.Migratory Push Server is a high performance real-time web technology that can handle a huge number of concurrent web clients. It offers extreme vertical scalability supporting 500,000 concurrent users on a single entry-level server machine (performance benchmarks are available on the Migratory Data Systems website). In addition, the system scales... more

SMA’s outsourced solutions to help deliver more efficient cash managementSMA Financial, SWIFT Regional partner for UK, Eire, Channel Islands and the Nordics today announced that National Grid plc (LSE: NG), an international gas and electricity company, has selected SMA’s Service Bureau for outsourced SWIFT connectivity, and SMA Alembic to optimise cash and liquidity management. Together the solutions will help National Grid to improve Treasury payment processing efficiency and reduce... more

Sadeq Sayeed, Nomura's chief executive officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has left the company, it has been announced.Mr Sayeed played a key part in Nomura's acquisition of Lehman Brothers' operations in the Middle East and Europe in 2008 and has been praised by the bank for his role in bringing about a "remarkable transformation" in Nomura's fortunes in the two markets.Takumi Shibata, chief operating officer and deputy president of Nomura Holdings, said: "We are very grateful for... more

 

TONBELLER, a leading provider of financial crime prevention solutions, has announced a successful implementation of its flagship product Siron(R)AML at The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) offices outside of Japan. Siron(R)AML forms the backbone of BTMU's strategy to fight anti-money laundering (AML), protect the organization from reputational damage and to comply with the increasing national and international regulations."We chose TONBELLER's Siron(R)AML for the proven track record it... more

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) today announced the appointment of Andreas Gϋnther as Head of Continental Europe for its international securities processing solutions business, which currently operates from its offices in Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. He will continue to report to Tom Carey, President, Securities Processing Solutions, International, Broadridge.In his new role, Mr Gϋnther will be responsible for Broadridge’s Switzerland-based international... more

DBFS, whose flagship Fund of Hedge Fund product is Asset+, today announces that it has expanded its consultancy offering. It will provide a one stop shop for asset managers, particularly for Hedge Funds, Fund of Hedge Funds and wealth managers. As part of the offering DBFS leverages its experience and expertise to support clients who either do not have the necessary in house resources or don’t wish to incur ‘big 4’ costs to be able to comply as required.Paul Savage, lead consultant says,... more

Dan Pierce joins Clearwater to drive sales strategy and tacticsClearwater Analytics, a recognized leader in transparent, outsourced, web-based, investment portfolio reporting and analytics for both separately managed and commingled accounts, has hired Dan Pierce as its Sales Director. In this capacity, Pierce will be responsible for coordinating Clearwater’s direct and partner sales efforts across all vertical markets. Pierce brings more than 20 years of sales experience to the organization... more

Financial Architects (FinArch), the leading international provider of Finance Resource Planning (FRP) for the finance industry, today announced that AB Bank SNORAS has signed an agreement with FinArch to upgrade their existing FinArch Basel II implementation to include the complete Financial Studio. AB Bank SNORAS have chosen to upgrade the Financial Studio Basel II solution to the same Financial Studio Platform for IFRS Accounting and Regulatory Compliance Reporting, MIS and further Advanced... more

Global Market Data Visionary Bolsters Regional Workforce and Adds New Data Centre in Frankfurt ACTIV, a supplier of fully managed low-latency market data solutions, today announced continued expansion in the European market following its April 2009 launch in the region. To support this growth and meet ongoing customer and market requirements, ACTIV has also opened a new data centre in Frankfurt, added additional content from major exchanges in the region and made several key additions to its... more

$30B Fund Administrator Leverages Paladyne to Expand Middle-Office Services Paladyne Systems, a leading solutions provider to the global hedge fund industry, today announced that Maples Finance, an independent global fund services provider with $30 billion in assets under administration, has successfully implemented the PALADYNE® product suite as its middle- and back-office solution. Maples Finance licensed Paladyne’s ASP (“Application Service Provider”) platform, a comprehensive... more

Patni Computer Systems (NYSE: PTI , BSE: PATNI COMPUT, NSE: PATNI), a leading global IT and BPO services provider, today announced the establishment of a new North American hub for Business Process Outsourcing operations in El Paso, Texas. The move was triggered by a multiyear, multimillion-dollar BPO services contract with a leading healthcare technology and services provider. Adding the El Paso center follows through on the stated corporate strategy to invest in specific regions around the... more

Belgian insurance company Mercator is to take Barrie & Hibbert's Economic Scenario Generator (ESG). The main application of the ESG will be economic capital management and assistance in ALM decisions.Part of the Baloise Group, Mercator writes both life and non-life business. Speaking about Mercator's decision to switch from its previous provider, Mercator's Director of Risk Management, Wim Kinnet explained, "We chose Barrie & Hibbert's ESG because of its outstanding capabilities, particularly in... more

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced enhanced investorcapabilities for its Loan Servicing Platform. The technology allows users of its Loan Servicing Platform to have real-time access to the cash position as it relates to their investor portfolios. San Francisco-based Bank of the West, with $60 billion in assets, is already using the new investor capability on the Fiserv Loan Servicing Platform. “The online,... more

The remnants of Lehman Brothers Holdings may be turned into an asset management firm, it has been suggested.Alvarez & Marsal, the restructuring company carrying out the liquidation of the bankrupt financial institution, has recommended that the remaining 385 Lehman Brothers employees set up a new business.Plans for the move have advanced to the stage that a new name, Lamco Holdings, has been agreed and trading may get underway from May 1st 2010, reports Bloomberg.Alvarez & Marsal are now looking... more

 

Hedge funds with assets of more than $100 million will have to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under proposals in the new Financial Rules Bill.The legislation was unveiled by Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd and includes a range of other measures, such as giving the Federal Reserve the power to break up large banks if they pose a "grave threat" to the economy.It also contains a recommendation that Barack Obama's Volker Rule plan, which would restrict... more

 

Peers and Experts Join To Bring Professional Development in Derivative Risk Management and Hedge AccountingReval, a global provider of derivative risk management and hedge accounting solutions, launched today its Reval Education Series in major global cities throughout Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Corporate treasury and accounting professionals interested in learning how to best manage and account for derivative risk can gain new insights from industry peers, Big 4... more

Dutch national telecoms provider chooses Celona Evolve software and Logica as major network inventory migration goes into productionCelona, leaders in business-centric application data migration software together with Logica, a leading IT and business services company, today announced the ‘go-live’ of a major OSS network inventory application data migration. This latest customer deployment combines the Celona Evolve zero downtime application data migration software platform with Logica’s... more

Software-as-a-Service Web-Based, Automated Spend Analytics Platform Helps Enterprises Manage Supplier Risks, Compliance & Business PerformanceTHINKstrategies, Inc., the leading strategic consulting company focused on the business implications of the on-demand services market, announced today that Rosslyn Analytics has been named the latest winner of the Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program, which is aimed at promoting the measurable business benefits being delivered by today's... more

Many European companies working in the financial services industry are putting their data at risk by not adopting a centralised strategy to protect documentation, a new report has shown. Findings from the study by Ricoh revealed that financial companies are the least likely to have restrictions on the printing of confidential client data. Less than half of the business leaders questioned have any policies in place, despite the majority being aware of the potential security issues surrounding... more

 

An investment banker and his wife have been charged with 14 counts of insider trading by the Financial Service Authority (FSA). Christian and Angie Littlewood have been arrested in connection with trades in shares listed on the London Stock Exchange and AIM which took place between 2000 and 2009, the regulator explained.A third unnamed suspect has been arrested in connection with the crimes in Mayotte, a French territory. The organisation revealed that the arrest of a 33 year-old Singapore... more

 

A former Barclays IT programmer has been imprisoned for 46 months for his part in a number of data thefts including the security breach at US retailer TJX. Humza Zaman was sentenced by a court in Boston, ordered to pay a $75,000 fine and faces three years supervision following his release. The 33 year-old is thought to have assisted Albert Gonzalez, the head of the criminal gang responsible for the TJX hacker attacks, in laundering up to $800,000. He is alleged to have received approximately ten... more

 

The top bankers at UBS received 69 million Swiss francs (SFr) ($65.2 million) as pay for 2009, the bank has revealed. Figures from the Swiss bank’s annual report revealed that Carsten Kengeter, co-chief executive at the investment bank, received more than SFr 13 million in pay and bonuses, with much of the sum provided in shares. In the report, the bank said: “Carsten Kengeter’s drive, leadership and impact have materially contributed to the turnaround in the FICC business, to the... more

 

Barclays Capital (BarCap) is looking to adopt a new partnership model, a newspaper has reported. According to the Financial Times, the investment bank is planning on aping the business model used by the likes of Goldman Sachs and Merril Lynch before they floated shares on the stock market. The bank is planning on bringing together a group of top executives who will receive pay packets in line with business profitability. Senior bankers will also be able to influence the future business direction... more

 

DBFS, whose flagship Fund of Hedge Fund product is Asset+, today announces that it has expanded its consultancy offering. Within this division, DBFS offer support in the management of Third Party Service Relationship from selection through to management and reviews.Paul Savage, lead consultant says, ‘Our role would be to guide and assist clients by obtaining and organising the information required to progress the decision making process. Furthermore we can aid with structure, KPI’s, SLA’s... more

The Mercuria Energy Group Ltd is an international group of companies active over a wide spectrum of global energy markets including crude oil and refined petroleum products, natural gas, power, coal, biodiesel, vegetable oils and carbon emissions. The Group is one of the world's five largest independent energy traders. The Mercuria team had a requirement for a specialist tool to commodity markets globally in order to assist their trading decisions. It required a large amount of data aggregation... more

Brady plc (BRY.L), the leading supplier of trading and risk management solutions for metals and commodities, announces today its acquisition of the commodities business of Viveo Switzerland SA. Viveo Switzerland is a leading solutions provider, principally for soft commodities, oil, gas and metals. Its technology, client base and deep domain knowledge is seen as a strong addition to Brady’s portfolio of trading and risk technology. The acquisition will increase Brady’s asset class coverage... more

OpenLink ranked highest in terms of number of votes, gaining 11 first places in categories including Market Risk for Oil, Operational Risk, Portfolio Management and Risk - Top Three in Every CategoryOpen Link Financial, Inc., ("OpenLink"), a leading provider of cross-asset trading, risk management and operations processing software solutions, announced today that Energy Risk readers have voted OpenLink the 2010 Best Vendor winner, and best knowledge in market. "Our survey shows OpenLink... more

Tagetik, a global provider of Corporate Performance Management (CPM) and Financial Governance software solutions, today announced that Grupo Credito Agricola is implementing Tagetik 3.0 as their main Consolidation and Financial Reporting tool.After a thorough evaluation process, we selected Tagetik 3.0," says Joao Paulo Pedro, Director of CA Servicos. "The unified approach, technological robustness and superior quality of the consolidation and reporting tool were key factors for the choice of... more

GoldenSource Reveals Centralised Market and Reference Data on Single Platform Unified Market and Reference Data delivers end-to-end data transparencyThe ability of Risk Managers to adapt to changing regulatory environments and achieve more up to date and accessible views of immediate risk positions, has long been held back by the siloed treatment of market and reference data. Today at FIMA NY, GoldenSource announced the release of the GoldenSource Market Data Solution (GSMDS) allowing Chief Risk... more

Need for Real-time Performance and Investor Pressure for Robust Risk Management Cited as Deciding FactorsImagine Software, a leading provider of real-time portfolio and risk management solutions worldwide, today announced the selection of its award-winning, Internet-based Derivatives.com service by Sydney-based Instinct Capital. The newly launched hedge fund will employ Imagine to provide comprehensive portfolio and risk capabilities.Head investment manager Fred Eechaute characterizes the... more

Global IT solutions provider NIIT Technologies has formalised a strategic partnership with Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) to globally market and implement "COSYS Intelligent Solutions (CIS)".NIIT Technologies Ltd, the global IT solutions provider headquartered in New Delhi, India announced a strategic partnership with Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS), to jointly market and implement its state of art COSYS Intelligent Solutions (COSYS IS) to help air cargo ground handling... more

The former president of the New York-based Park Avenue Bank has been arrested for fraud. Charles Antonucci faces ten counts in allegations which state that he made false claims in the bank's application for bailout funding from the Troubles Asset Relief Program (TARP) in "an elaborate round-trip loan transaction".Preet Bharara, a US attorney based in Manhattan, said that Antonucci is the first person to ever be charged with attempting to defraud TARP. "We expect he will not be the last," he... more

 

Allegro, the leading provider of energy trading and risk management (ETRM) solutions, today announced connectivity though an application protocol interface (API) link to Trayport’s GlobalVision Trading Gateway, providing customers automated trade capture for European energy exchanges and major energy brokerages. With all trade details captured into the Allegro platform in real-time, customers will experience improved efficiency, a reduction in errors and enhanced visibility into their... more

FRSGlobal, the only global provider of risk and regulatory reporting solutions with coverage for over 40 countries on a unified platform, today announced its associate partnership with leading Korean financial technology solution provider, STI CS. Under the alliance partnership, STI CS will promote FRSGlobal’s unified risk and profitability analysis solution, RiskPro, and its regulatory reporting solution, RegPro, to Korean banks with overseas business units that face constant regulatory... more

SIX Telekurs enriches the news services available in its global display and market data feed products to include eleven financial news sources focusing on the Nordic countries.SIX Telekurs is a leading provider of international financial data, of which financial news is a fundamental part. The additional news services which have been integrated into SIX Telekurs’ display and market data products are SIX News Sweden, SIX News Norway, TDN Finans, Startel, Kauppalehti Online and RB Börsen. In... more

Finance ministers from countries in the eurozone are close to hammering out a deal on what form a potential bailout package for Greece would take, it has been reported.If the troubled country is unable to refinance its debts, it is proposed that other governments in Europe would provide it with direct loans, as well as loan guarantees, reports the Financial Times.Any such funding would be attached to the condition that Greece continues to reform its economic system.But an explicit offer of aid... more

 

JPMorgan Asset Management is pouring money into India and China, it has been said.Around $860 million has been invested by its Asian infrastructure, with 25 per cent of that total going on China and India.Philip Jackson, chief of JPMorgan's Asia infrastructure investments group, told Reuters that although the company was concentrating on these two countries, it also had an eye on other investment opportunities throughout the continent."Clearly we anticipate China and India will be the two... more

 

FusionIQ is a web based software platform developed by the partners of Fusion Analytics Research Partners LLC, a top independent research firm. FusionIQ "fuses" the two widely followed investment disciplines of technical and fundamental analysis into a cohesive, equity and group ranking system. Developed by investment professionals for traders and investors, FusionIQ refines the equity research and risk management process by assigning proprietary weightings to a variety of alpha producing... more

The Federal Reserve is set to gain additional powers over the regulation of "systemically important" financial firms not directly involved in the banking industry, it has been reported.Unnamed sources told Reuters that the changes will be laid out in a new bill set to be unveiled by Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd.The proposals will also allow the Fed to maintain most of its present authority over the banking sector.Furthermore, the plans involve a new government watchdog for... more

 

Sophis VALUE supports global hedge fund’s operations across US, UK and AsiaSophis, a leading provider of cross-asset, front-to-back portfolio and risk management solutions, today announced that Voras Capital Management, a recently launched global hedge fund, has licensed Sophis VALUE for front-to-back office portfolio and risk management for its global trading operations. The system will support its planned strategy of investing in a wide range of distressed assets and making macroeconomic... more

Latest release delivers a complete platform for predictive analytics to any business, technical, or scientific userTIBCO Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TIBX) today launched TIBCO Spotfire® 3.1, the latest version of its in-memory analytics platform making predictive analytics accessible within Spotfire’s visual user experience. Spotfire® 3.1 responds faster than BI and more flexibly than spreadsheets, equipping everyone in the enterprise – whether in business, technical, or scientific roles –... more

Fast implementation allows ABT to fully automate its deposit reclassification processes and generate additional investment incomeFiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that Sherman, Texasbased American Bank of Texas (ABT), has implemented ReserveLink® from Fiserv to generate additional investment income by enhancing the management of reserve requirements and non-earning assets.ABT, with $1.1 billion in assets, was... more

A high percentage of financial institutions are neglecting to consider the area of brokerage fee and commission management as part of their cost control and operational risk strategies, despite the pressures of the financial downturn.According to a report from Datamonitor*, up to 48% of banks have no idea of their current commission levels, perform only simple checks or rely on a general feeling when consulting current commission levels. This situation has been allowed to develop for a number... more

Modern Banking Systems and Management Communication Services, Inc. enter partnership to offer full spectrum of payment solutions to banks, utilizing Financial Transmission Network, Inc. single payment platform.Companies offer a single payment platform that integrates with their core banking system Modern Banking Systems (MBS), a leading provider of in-house data processing solutions for community banks, and Management Communication Services, Inc. (MCSIT), authorized reseller of Financial... more

 

Unique Sectors and Full Lines of Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific Indices Now AvailableThomson Reuters today launched 7500 new equity sector-level indices covering a broad range of regions and sectors unique to Thomson Reuters. These include full lines of Emerging Market and Asia Pacific sector indices in addition to the first line of Iberian sector and NAFTA sector indices, as well as indices for new and relevant sectors such as Water, Renewables, and Diversified Media. The sector indices are... more

Robert E Hyer, Jr, an ex-employee of Citigroup, has been appointed by Houlihan Lokey to head up its new financial technology group. The new manager, who has 23 years experience working as an investment banker, will be working with Bruce Urbanek, a financial technology expert previously employed by both Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Previously, Mr Hyer Jr worked on setting up Citigroup’s global electronic services group, which provided expert advice to the likes of NYCE, E*Trade and Fiserv.... more

 

New York and London have been ranked as joint first in a new survey of global financial centres. Research conducted by the City of London Corporation revealed that London’s ranking fell by 15 points to 775 meaning that the UK’s capital is now on the same rating as New York. The US city’s standing in the ratings, which were compiled by Z/Yen Group between July and December 2009, remained the same when compared with the results of the last survey published in September 2009. Stuart Fraser,... more

 

Pierre-Henri Flamand, manager of Principal Strategies at Goldman Sachs, is to leave the investment bank to begin his own business. The 39 year-old has managed the firm’s largest internal hedge fund for three years and worked with the financial institution for a total of 15. Under Mr Flamand’s management, the fund managed $7 billion during 2008 and contributed towards the organisation recording a seven per cent increase in equity revenues to reach $9.89 billion the following year. Jerome... more

 

US President Barack Obama is thought to be planning on appointing Janet Yellen as the new vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed). Ms Yellen, currently Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco president, is expected to replace outgoing postholder Donald Kohn, sources close to the matter have claimed. Mr Kohn recently announced he is to step down from the role, which is the second-highest ranking in the Fed, in June. The new postholder, who has been in her present job since 2004, is considered to... more

 

Nimbus and Quadrant to further support UK banks compliance efforts in line with FSA liquidity risk management requirementsNimbus, a global provider of business process management software, and Quadrant Risk Management, a specialist provider of business intelligence and risk and compliance solutions, have today announced a strategic partnership to help financial services organizations to quickly and successfully comply with new regulatory requirements. It is aimed at accelerating business process... more

China-based Ping An Asset Management Corporation (PAAMC), the leading fianancial service group in China, has successfully implemented DST Global Solutions Investment Management Solutions’ (IMS) HiPortfolio/3 investment accounting platform. PAAMC, under the Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd, deployed DST Global Solutions IMS’ leading solution following PAAMC’s analysis of future business growth potential both in China and overseas. HiPortfolio/3’s multi-layer architecture... more

American International Group (AIG) is to cut $21 million from the amount it will pay in retention bonuses to its former staff members, a company insider has said.The source told Bloomberg that a reduction of around 33 per cent from the originally-planned level will be made - meaning that the 70 employees in line for the money will now share out about $46 million.AIG is aiming to meet the target set by Kenneth Feinberg, the government's pay czar, who wants to see a total of $45 million returned... more

 

Leading high-bandwidth connectivity provider offers one of the industry’s fastest end-to-end transatlantic connections for demanding low latency applications AboveNet, Inc. (NYSE: ABVT), a leading provider of high-bandwidth connectivity solutions, has launched one of the industry’s fastest, low latency end-to-end transatlantic connections between London and New York, reaching key financial locations in:London: Slough, The City and Docklands New York Metro: Manhattan and New Jersey,... more

The Board is very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr John Cameron, as a non‐executive Director of the company. Mr Cameron brings over 20 years experience in developing financial software and consulting, particularly in the area of electronic trading and FIX based connectivity. John was a member of the original team that wrote SEATS (the original automated trading system used by ASX Limited), which went live in 1987. Following this he designed and developed electronic trading and market... more

Satuit Technologies, Inc., the leading provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software for asset management professionals, today announced that it has acquired the assets of Lync.NET, a leading provider of Investor Communication preparation and distribution technology for wealth management and institutional asset management firms. The acquisition brings together Satuit’s on-demand CRM system with Lync.NET’s suite of Client Report Management tools which automates the process of... more

DBFS, whose flagship Fund of Hedge Fund product is Asset+, today announces that it has further expanded its consultancy offering for asset managers, particularly for Hedge Funds, Fund of Hedge Funds and wealth managers.By leveraging its experience and expertise DBFS supports clients who require regulatory consulting, optimisation of their operational practices and infrastructure, risk reviews and support in the management and optimisation of 3rd party relationships, however either do not have... more

BITA Risk and JHC partner to provide ‘measurement-against-mandate’ portfolio analytics to Charles StanleyBITA Risk Solutions, providers of investment portfolio risk analysis tools, today announced a commercial partner agreement with JHC LLP for the integration of its BITA Monitor product into JHC’s FIGARO platform for stockbrokers and wealth managers. Charles Stanley, one of the UK's leading independently owned, full service stockbroking, corporate finance and institutional advisory... more