No bonanza yet for big funds from new rules to cut risk

LONDON (Reuters) - If pension funds, insurers and sovereign wealth funds were hoping to cash in on lending "high quality" assets to those scrambling to meet tougher collateral requirements in 2014, they are likely to be disappointed.

US banks stress test: Is Citigroup safer than JPMorgan?

NEW YORK: The newest stress tests for US banks produced scores that are at odds with other measures of lenders' safety, in another sign that some institutions may be too big for regulators to understand and executives to manage.

Banks, traders wary of two-step stress test

(Reuters) - Investors in U.S. bank stocks may be in for a volatile ride over the next two weeks as the Federal Reserve releases results of its annual stress tests of bank capital in two steps.

Korea Lures Investors as Covered Bonds Dwindle: Mortgages

Global investors are looking past record household debt and falling property prices to pile into South Korean mortgage bonds as a lack of supply in the world’s biggest markets boosts the allure of the securities.

Funds Cite CMBS Top Bet After Subprime Gains: Mortgages

Hedge funds seeking the hottest trade of 2013 are turning to skyscrapers, shopping malls and hotels after last year’s rebound in residential real-estate drove the industry’s best gains.

Bank Property Lending Retreat a Lehman Legacy: Mortgages

For J.H. Snyder Co. to start building a $197 million Los Angeles apartment complex in June, the developer cobbled together funds from two city agencies, a mezzanine lender and a pension fund to help fill a 63 percent funding gap left by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)’s construction loan.

U.S. Banks Sold More Swaps on European Debt as Risks Rose

U.S. banks increased sales of protection against credit losses to holders of Greek, Portuguese, Irish, Spanish and Italian debt in the last quarter of 2011 as the European debt crisis escalated.

Hedge funds eye further profits from JPMorgan losses

LONDON: Hedge funds are positioned to squeeze more profits from JPMorgan & Co's losing position in US credit derivatives, after racking up tidy gains from a lucrative trade that could end up costing the bank more than $3 billion.

Doubts fuel investor guessing game

A high-stakes guessing game has broken out on Wall Street: what might investors have to sell if the US government loses its triple A credit rating for the first time?
Even with a tentative deal to raise the debt ceiling agreed late on Sunday, the Washington acrimony required to get there has left few analysts confident that US Congress can agree sufficient deficit reduction measures to placate Standard & Poor’s, the rating agency most negative in its outlook for US government finances.