Plans to extend the Hong Kong dollar interest rate swaps curve out to 15 years have been put on the back burner because of falling liquidity in the front end. "This is being delayed until next year," said Aaron Poon, Hong Kong head of rates trading at JPMorgan. The bulge bracket house helped kick-start a 12-year Hong Kong dollar swap rate a few months back (DW, 9/24) and dealers had hoped to launch a 15-year rate before year-end. "The market has been very choppy--a lot of banks have become risk averse and [are] holding flat positions until the end of the year," said an official at Bank of America. "Some players seem to be taking an early holiday," added Poon, noting that overall swap volumes are down.
Hong Kong 15-Year I-Rate Swap Mart On Hold
