There is still no clarity about the final shape of Solvency II regulations for insurers, but investment banks are already considering ways to help insurance clients earn the returns they need without excessive capital charges.
As equity markets look set to stagnate for some time, investors want to know not just how to hedge volatility, but how to profit from it.
The advent of Basel III and funding constraints in the eurozone have prompted investment banks to make greater efforts to transfer the exotic risks generated from their derivatives structuring businesses.
Derivatives collateral management used to be a purely operational matter, but post-crisis regulation and sovereign downgrades have made it into a strategic priority for every bank.