Kuwait’s Markaz Rolls Out Fincad Analytics for Derivatives Pricing and Analytics
Middle Eastern asset management and investment banking firm Markaz has completed the rollout of Fincad Analytics for its derivatives pricing and analytics. The firm, which is based in the Kuwait Financial Centre, has implemented the solution as part of its wider plans to build options trading and technology infrastructure for the Kuwait Stock Exchange. Hussein...
China Life Asset Management Opts for DSTi’s HiPortfolio/3 for Accounting
China Life Asset Management Corporation (CLAMC) has completed the rollout of DST International’s (DSTi’s) HiPortfolio/3 investment accounting solution. The firm, which is one of the largest institutional investors in China, opted to implement the solution with a view to increasing its STP and allowing its managers to more effectively monitor their portfolios. Zhang Feng Min,...
Mark to Market Discussions Continue at Financial Crisis Advisory Group, US Government Plans More Talks
The Financial Crisis Advisory Group, which was formed last year by the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) to tackle the financial crisis, has this week discussed how best to solve the issues surrounding fair value pricing. The group discussed the problems to do with mark to market accounting...
Italy’s Interbanca Picks SunGard’s Reech RiskHedge for Complex Valuations
Italian banking group Interbanca has selected SunGard’s risk management engine, Reech RiskHedge, for the valuation of its complex portfolios. Andrea Liso, head of information systems at Interbanca, explains that the firm decided to move to a single risk management platform to simplify the process of calculating the value at risk (VaR) of its positions. The...
SuperDerivatives Promotes Sela to FX and Cross Asset Product Manager
SuperDerivatives has promoted current pre-sales director, Udi Sela, to the position of FX and cross asset product manager. Sela, who has been with the vendor since 2005, will now lead the company’s FX and cross asset product functions and will report directly to Ravit Mandell, vice president for products. Prior to SuperDerivatives, Sela worked in...
Fed’s Bernanke Champions Mark to Market But Says Illiquid Securities Issue Needs Resolution
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has added his voice to the debate about mark to market accounting rules this week. Bernanke is in favour of the controversial accounting rules, which require companies to write down assets every quarter to reflect market value, but cautions that regulators urgently need to deal with the issues surrounding the...
S&P’s ABSXchange Wins Three New Financial Institution Clients and UK FSA
Standard & Poor’s structured finance platform, ABSXchange, has gained a number of new clients over the last month or so, including the UK Financial Services Authority. The ABSXchange platform, which is part of the vendor’s Fixed Income Risk Management Services (FIRMS) division, enables users to retrieve performance data from across the universe of publicly rated,...
Significant Number of Companies Interested in Consolidated Standards for IFRS Reporting, Says Deloitte
A “significant” number of US private companies are interested in the introduction of accounting standards based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), according to a recent online poll by consultancy firm Deloitte & Touche. The poll, which took place during a webcast with around 1,700 finance professionals, indicated that 40% of respondents were considering taking...
American Bankers Association Concerned FASB is Ignoring Underlying Issues with Mark to Market
Following the announcement by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) earlier in the month that it would be revisiting mark to market accounting standards, the American Bankers Association (ABA) has spoken up about some concerns it has about the FASB approach. The association feels that issues underlying the controversial accounting rules are not being taken...
Fincad Upgrades Analytics Suite with Extended Asset Class Coverage
Fincad has launched a new version of its Analytics Suite for 2009, with extended asset class coverage of structured products including trigger swaps, Brazilian FRNs, Altiplano options and snowrange instruments. The vendor says the upgrade is aimed at meeting the valuations and risk analytics needs of financial institutions in the current financial environment. Fincad Analytics...