Operational risk
CFTC steps up enforcement of data reporting violations
The CFTC has recently been flexing its muscles to ensure firms comply with data reporting rules, handing out fines to companies such as Ice, JP Morgan and Marubeni. The moves are raising fears that energy companies and other end-users may be targeted next
Barclays ruling bolsters Ferc anti-manipulation drive
Ferc has won a key motion in a $470 million manipulation case against Barclays, which strengthens the regulator's hand in other enforcement actions
Energy scarcity warrants tough response to market abuse
Market manipulation is a problem that is controversial and tricky to define, but it must be taken seriously. That is particularly true in energy markets, where the optimal allocation of resources is more important than ever, argues industry veteran…
Highlights from Energy Risk Summit USA 2015
Exclusive coverage of the flagship congress for senior energy risk managers and traders
Kraft allegations raise concern among energy end-users
A CFTC complaint against the successor firms of Kraft Foods is a good indicator of how it might deal with end-users holding dominant positions in other markets, say panellists at Energy Risk Summit USA
US energy firms lament liquidity 'void' after bank exits
The retreat of banks from commodities has caused liquidity to dry up, making it much tougher to hedge, say participants at Energy Risk Summit USA
Data doesn't support CFTC on position limits, Giancarlo says
Proponents of the CFTC's proposed Dodd-Frank position limits rule are ignoring "the reality of the data", Republican commissioner Chris Giancarlo says at Energy Risk Summit USA
Flood of oil ETF investors reshaping market, analysts say
Investors stampeded into exchange-traded funds tied to crude oil futures in early 2015. Analysts say the huge inflows halted the plunge in oil prices, at least temporarily, and enabled significant producer hedging. But not everyone agrees
CFTC’s Massad woos energy firms with Dodd-Frank fixes
US Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Timothy Massad stresses the agency will smooth out flaws in the agency's Dodd-Frank Act rules, but sidesteps a question over whether they were rushed
Massad sees exchange role in policing CFTC position limits
US exchanges could stay in charge of granting bona fide hedge exemptions to end-users as part of the new federal position limits regime, CFTC chairman suggests
Applied risk management series: Counterparty risk exposure metrics
The use of static counterparty exposure metrics, which provide an incomplete view of the risk of individual deals and portfolios, may lead risk managers to take decisions with unintended consequences. Carlos Blanco outlines a better approach using…
EU commodity trading firms face capital punishment
Imposing CRD IV capital rules on trading houses, utilities and oil majors carries huge costs and makes no sense
Former enforcement chief takes top job at Ferc
BAML promotes Ahmad to co-head; Coolidge leaves Velite; Black joins Wells Fargo; StanChart loses sales head; Freepoint adds oil traders
Bulgaria power market faces challenges, conference told
Bulgaria's electricity market is being hampered by poor transparency, export fees and market structure, heard delegates at Energy Risk Balkans
Gazprom claims highlight stranglehold over European gas
An EC antitrust probe throws Gazprom's dominance in central and eastern Europe into sharp relief, but will do little to alleviate it
BNP Paribas's Flax calm about impact of regulation
Regulation is making life more difficult for bank commodity desks, but Catherine Flax, BNP Paribas's head of commodity derivatives for the Americas, is keeping a cool head
EU capital requirements worry commodity trading firms
The finalisation of Mifid II in Europe has rekindled a debate over whether commodity trading firms should be subject to capital requirements. Firms are lobbying strongly against the idea, but regulators and the European Commission will have the final say
US shale boom poses challenge to Henry Hub benchmark
Henry Hub, the US natural gas benchmark, is being called a "broken proxy" as the shale revolution boosts production in the northeast US. But potential alternatives, such as Pennsylvania's Dominion South, will find it difficult to seize Henry's crown
Hedge fund case tests Ferc's anti-manipulation drive
A US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission probe into a little-known energy hedge fund has turned into an unusual public standoff. Now, the fund's founders are girding themselves for a long legal battle, which may set an important precedent for US energy…
Practitioners must take risk measures with a pinch of salt
While useful, it is possible to rely too heavily on conventional risk measures such as volatility and value-at-risk – a point made recently by billionaire US investor Warren Buffett. Every aspiring practitioner should know about their drawbacks, writes…
Dealing with stressed contracts in the energy sector
The recent collapse of crude oil prices is inevitably putting many contracts in the energy sector under strain. Ashley Wright and Richard Steenhof of Norton Rose Fulbright explore the legal options available to energy companies that need to manage the…
CFTC sent special calls by mistake, Giancarlo says
Hundreds of special call letters were sent to end-users of over-the-counter derivatives in error, CFTC commissioner Chris Giancarlo says
Oil collapse fails to dent zeal for hub-based gas pricing
In recent years, European buyers of natural gas have pushed strongly in favour of contract pricing based on the continent's gas hubs, rather than more traditional formulas linked to the price of oil. Given the huge drop in crude prices, has this stance…
Financial trading worsened oil plunge – Risk.net poll
Most respondents to a recent Risk.net poll say paper trading had some impact on the recent decline in crude oil prices, but disagree about how much