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The British Bankers’ Association’s Credit Derivatives Report 2005/06 was unveiled at the BBA’s third annual credit derivative conference held in London on September 21. In 2004 the BBA survey predicted that the global credit derivative market in 2006 would be $8.2 trillion but it is actually $20.2 trillion.

Buzz over US continues, but Europe still getting its act together.

A liberalization of the mortgage market in Argentina could lead to a rise in securitizations and the creation of the country’s equivalent of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Mexico broke ground this year with a $160 million, three-year catastrophe bond to cover an earthquake disaster, the first developing country to do so. With the success of that issue, Mexico’s finance ministry is now considering issuing against hurricanes and intense rains that cause flooding. As Mexico recovers from the devastation brought by Hurricane John in September and scientists warn of ever-more severe weather because of global warming, the need to protect against such disasters is clearly urgent. According to José Antonio González Anaya, the finance ministry’s insurance chief, bonds issued by the hurricane-prone US state of Florida could serve as a model for Mexico. Those bonds generally pay more interest than corporate bonds with the same rating and need a category 5 hurricane directly hitting a city to trigger them. The finance ministry says that ideally Mexico would issue a cat bond against hurricanes before president Vicente Fox ends his term in December. Even if that goal is not met, president-elect Felipe Calderón is expected to follow a similar, pro-market economic policy and Mexico’s cat bond issuance is forecast to continue. “What’s important is to find innovative insurance schemes to protect our natural disaster fund and our public finances,” González Anaya says, adding that the bonds give the government immediate access to funds should disaster strike. He adds that Mexico went ahead with the earthquake bond first because although hurricanes are far more frequent than earthquakes, an earthquake’s intensity is easier to measure and easier to insure against. Heavy rains are even more complex disasters because risk levels must take into account the probability of mudslides and other rain-related disasters.

As credit research is increasingly geared towards short-term trading ideas rather than fundamentals, there could be a dangerous dearth of information when defaults begin to rise.

Grupo TMM, a Mexican transport and logistics company, is launching a $200 million securitization that will replace bonds that are relics of its troubled past. Juan Fernández, TMM’s CFO, tells Lawrence White how the firm stayed afloat and what he plans for the future.

The man behind Man Group is to step down from his role of CEO.

First Fiji, now the Seychelles. Suddenly, all those long hours that originators spend on planes en route to visit potential clients seem less tedious.

52,300,000,000 funds raised in IPOs in dollars in the Emea region so far this year. That’s 60% up on funds raised over the same period in 2005.

Italian regional authorities’ healthcare securitizations are under threat following the ratings of Lazio, Campania and Abruzzo being placed on negative watch by Standard & Poor’s. Threats to the accounting treatment given by Eurostat and also domestic authorities point to the regions’ healthcare securitizations being classed as debt. This gave S&P the jitters over how they would continue to fund their healthcare deficits.

Eurozone countries are continuing to boost productivity vis-à-vis that in the US; consequently European equities are outperforming American ones.

Qatari bank aims to become world’s largest Islamic player after IPO.