Crédit Agricole Indosuez plans to hire a managing director and two additional directors in its New York credit derivatives operation. The move is part of a global credit market push, according to an official. Last September the firm launched its first Asian credit derivatives desk in Hong Kong (DW, 9/23/01) and New York is the next market it is looking to tap because of the increase in North American end users, specifically hedge funds, mutual funds and insurance companies.
Jean-Michel Beacco, head of credit in Paris, is leading the effort. Beacco declined comment. New York-based credit derivatives traders said Indosuez currently has "absolutely no presence" in the New York market. "I've never seen them," one trader noted.