Inter-dealer broker GFI in New York is expanding the range of exotic credit and equity derivatives it is offering. According to officials familiar with the firm, it has just started broking bespoke collateralized debt obligations, for example. This may help dealers offset exposures to particular sectors or portfolios. There is already an inter-dealer market for bespoke tranches in London, but it has only started to develop in New York in the last few months. Ian Clague, managing director at GFI in New York, declined comment.
The broker has also increased its offering of credit-default swaps on municipal bonds, as interest in this market has picked up. It now brokers about 10 different municipal CDS names, compared to a handful at the start of the summer.
On the equity exotics side, GFI is also understood to be hiring index variance-swap brokers. It has two brokers currently covering index and single-stock variance swaps but the number of planned hires could not be determined.
