Pre-migration untagged articles

Attendance at the ESF/IMN European CLOs, Structured Credit Products and Credit Derivatives Summit in London this week was down on last year. Around 100 people attended the first panels, compared to several hundred last year. This number shrank to about 40 by the afternoon of the first day.

Financial stability measures announced in Denmark on Wednesday, including guaranteeing depositors’ and senior unsecured creditors’ claims against banks for two years, did not extend to covered bonds.

Fixed income investors and bankers applauded the UK government rescue plan of the UK banking system this week, hoping that the solution —the most comprehensive rescue during the credit crisis yet — will solve the capital and liquidity crisis, at least in the UK.

The MTN market was inundated with buyback requests this week, but many issuers have begun to call a stop to the reverse flow, with even some of the most flexible names, such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia, refusing to post buyback levels.

Believe it or not, there was some activity in the niche currency bond markets this week. With exchange rates so volatile, there was no question of FX plays, but domestic investors bought bonds in Norwegian kroner and Canadian and New Zealand dollars.

The CDS credit event auction system is in the middle of its biggest test to date, and this week’s events have alarmed some in the market.

Accounting standards setters around the world are scrambling to clarify their guidelines on accounting for illiquid securities in response to pressure from regulators.

The lack of liquidity in the European commercial paper market could lead to further bank failures if dramatic action is not taken by authorities, according to market participants.

The UK government’s rescue package will provide some support to the securitisation market, but market participants felt that fundamental concerns about the housing market would continue to dominate sentiment.

The International Islamic Financial Market on Wednesday launched a master agreement for treasury placement (MATP) for the Murabaha market. This is the world’s first standardised master agreement in Islamic finance and can be used by financial institutions for over the counter Murabaha transactions.

Euroclear Bank on Tuesday launched an online service that displays average yields for ECP. The indices provide weekly and daily computed yield data, sourced from Euroclear Bank to track the evolution of the ECP market.

The lights were burning bright at the UK treasury on Tuesday night, with Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, having assembled a crack team of ministers, treasury officials, lawyers, investment bankers and accountants to hammer out the £400bn rescue package in time for the Wednesday market open.