Behnouche Mostachfi, head of foreign exchange options at Commerzbank Securities in London, has left the firm and Nozar Hussein, head of proprietary fx trading, has been appointed as acting head of both groups. The departure comes amidst rumors that Commerzbank is scaling back its fx options presence, with several rival traders saying the volume of business they conduct with the German bank has fallen. Ricardo Pascoe, global head of corporate risk and capital structure in London, said trading volumes have fallen because the firm has switched to executing more customer-driven business than proprietary trading and therefore moves in and out of positions less frequently. Mostachfi did not return calls and Hussein declined comment.
Pascoe said there have been cuts in the fx team in line with cuts throughout the firm, but that the options team will maintain its headcount. Mostachfi will be replaced, but Pascoe is undecided whether it will be with a direct replacement or lower level hire.
Commerzbank is in the process of changing its fx options operation to a client-focused one as part of its effort to put all interest rate, foreign exchange and precious metals under one roof. The firm will keep some fx options capacity within its proprietary trading desk, but aims to increase the proportion of its client business to 85% of the revenues from 50%. Pascoe declined to comment whether Mostachfi's departure was related to this change.
A salesman at another firm added that Commerzbank needs to keep some fx options capacity to deal with customer requests, but appears to be scaling back.
