BOE Warns of Growing Risks From Hedge Fund Basis Trades

The Bank of England is warning about growing risks from a profitable fixed-income hedge fund strategy known as the basis trade, calling on market participants to manage their risk taking to avoid a disruptive unwinding of trades that could prompt volatility in gilts. Hedge fund net gilt repo borrowing where they borrow cash by pledging gilts as collateral reached close to £100 billion ($132 billion) in November, the central bank said Tuesday, the highest since data collection began. That compares to a £77 billion estimate in June. Bloomberg Global Finance Reporter Laura Noonan joins Stephen Carroll and Tom Mackenzie on Bloomberg radio to discuss.