Citigroup has hired Colin Sharpe, head of credit structuring at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, to head its exotics and cross-markets trading team in Singapore. The move is part of Citigroup's restructuring of its Asia-Pacific foreign exchange, debt and interest rate desks, according to Tom Pragastis, regional head of trading at Citigroup in Singapore, and to whom Sharpe reports.
The restructuring is designed to give consistency across regions to offer similar structures and pricing in each market, noted Pragastis. In addition, by putting the exotics in a centralized trading book it is possible to offset some of the risks and hedge the remainder as a portfolio. Pragastis explained, however, that due to differences in regulation there will still be some decentralized areas.
At the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Sharpe reported to Wayne Hoy, general manager in debt capital markets in Sydney. Hoy said the firm hired Rob Nankivell from JPMorgan in January to set up a structured securities desk and Nankivell will assume Sharpe's responsibilities.
