Articles by Lukas Becker
Rate-linked notes trigger ‘pain trade’ for dealers
Negative 2y30y US swap spread sees hedging costs for range accruals soar, fuelling more flattening
Euro rates volatility wrong-foots dealers
Banks’ risk appetite and liquidity are low following painful rates vol moves, say traders
‘Dead’ derivatives market leaves big Russia dealers unhedged
VTB and Sberbank face directional exposure to local corporates after mass unwinds by foreign banks
Banks, prime brokers and trading venues shun ruble trades
FXPBs turn away derivatives bets as spot platforms block ruble trades and NDF fixings go dark
Ukraine invasion clouds rates consensus trades
“Old school” US macro trades are back in fashion, but geopolitical risks add uncertainty
BlackRock is biggest US fund user of single-stock options
Counterparty Radar: Microsoft was top underlying in latest filings, with notionals also up for Amazon and Meta
Dealers warm to SOFR swaptions but buy side lags
Rate accounted for nearly half of new notional last week, but operational issues slow end-user uptake
Blame to spare in UK energy supplier debacle
Price cap was part of the problem, but lack of hedging and oversight also contributed
Morgan Stanley bests Citi as top forwards shop for US funds
Counterparty Radar: A $30bn boost from Vanguard sends MS to top of Q2 charts
Algo sniffers make a tough business tougher
FX spot is already a hard game for many LPs and the rise of skew sniping only makes things harder
Jumbo trades propel BNPP, TD up forwards rankings
Counterparty Radar: In Q1 2021 data, outsiders are eating into US banks’ business with domestic funds
How Brexit split Aegon’s euro swaps book
Years-long effort saw trades quietly move to Frankfurt – but firm wants continued access to LCH
Could prime of primes go pop?
The PoP market is booming, but some tier one banks are wary
Vanguard, FX forwards kingmaker
Counterparty Radar: How the fund giant influenced banks’ overall forwards fortunes in 2020
Tighter RMB rates basis brings new hedging opportunities
Increasing alignment between CNH and CNY benchmarks opens door to more cross-currency hedging by foreign lenders
Drax commits to ESG-linked FX derivative targets with UK banks
Renewable energy supplier applies long-term ESG KPIs to short-term FX trades with Barclays and NatWest
Fallback dodgers walking a difficult path
Firms avoiding signing the Isda protocol will face challenges, say industry figures
XVA traders have no time to rest on laurels
Markets have calmed, but they may not be out of the woods yet
How Shell integrated FX algos into its corporate treasury mix
Interview: oil giant puts up to 50% of spot flows through algos, explains FX head Michael Dawson
Inside March madness with Citi’s Tuchman
Interview: Trading rooms went virtual, central banks stepped up – but some platforms flopped
European banks seek capital relief for CVA hedges
Volatile trading in March caused CVA hedges to dominate market risk RWAs at some smaller dealers
FVA losses back in spotlight after coronavirus stress
Three US banks suffer combined loss of almost $2bn after rates and funding double whammy
How carbon-cutting Drax manages currencies and credit
Interview: UK power giant uses option selling – and other tactics – to create hedging headroom
FX vol revived by Covid-19 – but for how long?
Traders split on whether virus impact, or central bank responses, will prove most powerful