Blockchain, the system that relies on networked computers which keep a record of all the transactions that have gone through it, has become an increasingly significant component of FinTech. Blockchain is only going to grow in importance in the way it disrupts and challenges the traditional financial services industry. Many financial institutions (FIs) are already starting to invest in this technology, with Deutsche Bank, Santander, NASDAQ and Barclays are just four examples of FIs which have been actively exploring how to utilise blockchain within their existing frameworks.

Blockchain in Financial Markets and Beyond: Challenges and Applications, edited by Ron Quaranta, will teach the reader how best to utilise blockchain technology in the financial markets. Authors will examine the origin of blockchain and how it works in practice; how to get your company ready for blockchain; the different rules and regulations around blockchain as they currently stand; and a discussion of the future possibilities for blockchain.

This new edition of The Handbook of ALM in Banking: Managing New Challenges for Interest Rates, Liquidity and the Balance Sheet provides a complete overview on good practices for asset and liability management in banking.

Since the previous edition, considerable changes have taken place in the regulatory ALM space. Both for liquidity risk as well as for interest rate risk in the banking book, regulatory demands have substantially increased concerning governance, stress testing, risk appetite framework, behavioural modelling, and organisational questions. At this point in time banks are working to implement these new regulations.

At the same time, stronger separation of retail banking activities from investment banking is being proposed. Consequently, there is greater focus on efficient allocation of financial resources and respective risk management. Asset and liability management and transfer pricing play a pivotal role in this context.

This new and updated edition expands on the previous version to take in an overview of these new regulations and their implications for the ALM area. The two most important developments in the ALM space since the last edition are arguably IRRBB and negative interest rates - both of which are covered here. The low-interest environment also imposes additional challenges on banking book management.

Reforms known as the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) impact every bank with a trading book which in today's world, is virtually every bank.

The FRTB, released by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in 2016, revised the minimum capital requirements for market risk to address the shortcomings of the Basel III market risk capital framework. The FRTB is an overarching view of how risks from banks' trading activities and portfolios should be assessed and quantified through a credible relationship with capital requirements.

How banks plan for the effects, consequences and applications of FRTB is at the heart of Sanjay Sharma and John Beckwith's new book, The FRTB: Concepts, Implications, and Implementation. The book explores the regulations and their consequences and takes a look at the principal components of the new guidelines, which include:

> A boundary between banking and trading books

> Replacing value-at-risk (VaR) with expected shortfall (ES) as a risk measure

> A revised sensitivity-based standardised approach (SA)

> A revised ES-based internal models approach (IMA) with differentiated liquidity horizons.

The FRTB: Impact, Implications, and Implementation is essential reading if you are a practitioner, a consultant, a regulator, an auditor, a ratings agency, an investor, a capital markets participant or a bank stakeholder.

Many of the challenges that banks face due to tighter margin requirements are still fresh and, in many cases, without solid industry consensus to guide their resolution. Yet the new margin rules are already in place and, in order to effectively trade in today's markets, financial institutions must quickly develop a keen understanding of the implications of, and techniques for, trading with large margin requirements. This is, therefore, a serendipitous time to organise the many strands of margin-related challenges into a coherent framework, and, more importantly, to present the thinking and research on these problems by a collection of leading academics, practitioners and regulators.

Margin in Derivatives Trading aims to do just this, and should be of benefit to practitioners, academics and regulators alike.

The book has been organised into several focus areas, progressing from the fundamentals of margin postings and the associated regulation, via valuation adjustments (XVA) and exposure calculation techniques, to more advanced topics. The book is divided into five sections:

1. Foundation;

2. Regulation;

3. XVA and forward initial margin;

4. Exposure modelling;

5. Optimisation, procyclicality and systemic risk.

Part I describes the basic mechanics of margin posting, as laid out in the typical legal documents relevant to different types of trading.

Part II is dedicated to regulatory aspects of margin, with a special focus on the new rules for bilateral OTC trading between financial companies.

Part III of the book is dedicated to the computation of valuation metrics for the credit and funding costs of margin.

Part IV of the book focuses on modelling credit exposure in the presence of margin.

Part V addresses a number of issues that can loosely be thought of as the unintended consequences of mandatory central clearing and the new margin requirements for bilateral OTC trading.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007-09, global macro was one of the few investment strategies that delivered positive returns. Since then global markets have been driven almost solely by macroeconomic decision making; more so than at any time in recent years.

Global Macro: Theory and Practice, edited by industry expert Andrew Rozanov, is the first comprehensive handbook and authoritative guide focusing exclusively on global macro strategies, designed for use by investment professionals involved in constructing and managing institutional portfolios.

"Global Macro: Theory and Practice is an important primer for institutions seeking to understand macro from two sides of the looking glass: the view of practitioners like myself and the view of investors. The broad range of topics covered – discretionary versus systematic approaches, the role of risk management in macro, the role of policy analysis and prediction in macro, among others — will draw institutional investors into the stimulating world I have lived and breathed for three decades."
– PAUL TUDOR JONES II, Co-Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Tudor Investment Corporation

A practical guide for all insurance risk professionals, the book includes details of the latest practices in insurance-linked investment, developed since the publication of the first edition. Covering topics such as side pockets, industry loss warranties, fronting, side cars and portfolio optimisation, Alternative (Re)insurance Strategies: Second Edition encapsulates the growth and innovations in this ever popular market.

This is the survival guide for trading in a world where high-frequency trading predominates in markets, accounting for upwards of 60% of trading in equities and futures, and 40% in foreign exchange. High-frequency trading is the subject of extensive debate, particularly as to whether it is beneficial for traders and markets or instead allows some traders to benefit at others expense. This book provides you with an important overview and perspective on this area, with a particular focus on how low-frequency traders and asset managers can survive in the high frequency world.

“The concept of high-frequency trading too often evinces irrational fears and opposition.  This book, by experts in the field, unveils the mysteries, records the facts and sets out the real pros and cons of such mechanisms.”

Charles Goodhart, Fellow of the British Academy, and Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics.

Following the global financial crisis, the Comprehensive Capital Analysis Review – CCAR – has emerged in the US as the most dominant regulatory regime to face banks in recent years: banks must be able to prove to regulators that they have sufficient capital to weather a severe economic downturn.

CCAR and Beyond is the first authoritative reference guide to CCAR, providing a complete introduction and analysis of the regulation from origins to implementation. Read the introduction to this handbook here.

With extensive experience advising CCAR banks on modelling issues, Jing Zhang brings together a cross-section of views from those directly involved in the regulation and implementation of these assessments and stress tests. CCAR and Beyond clarifies the various methodologies and techniques to approaching CCAR assessments, providing unique insight into this seminal regulation.

Editor Patricia Jackson of EY is the Head of Financial Regulatory Advice for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa. With over 25 years of experience in the banking and regulation sectors, as well as with the Bank of England, Patricia is uniquely qualified to lead this project on the subject of risk culture and governance.

Click here to hear Patricia's answers to some key questions on risk culture.

After the financial crisis, banks and insurance companies were forced to get to grips with the ecosystem that had led to huge, and endemic, losses. Attention on this issue has intensified due to the exposure of high-profile conduct issues such as the LIBOR scandal. Developing and instilling an effective and measurable risk culture has emerged as a key issue for senior management and the board. Boards and regulators must focus on how firms can assess risk culture and achieve the desired philosophy throughout an international organisation.

“The editor, Patricia Jackson, who has wide experience in the risk management field, has brought together an impressive array of authors to look at the nexus of factors which influence risk culture and at ways that an organisation can go about strengthening culture.”
Sir David Walker