Derivs - Credit

Deliverable swap futures could boost liquidity in derivatives markets and lead to a healthier industry going forwards, Jeffrey Howard, managing director and global co-head of prime services markets at RBS Securities, told the Bürgenstock global forum for derivatives markets in Geneva today.

Chris Wait, global head of fixed income sales at Standard Chartered in Singapore, is leaving the firm.

Investors were seen buying payers on the iTraxx indices last week to hedge ahead of the roll of the indices on September 20.

Short-term equity-linked and fixed coupon notes are the most traded structured products among Asia-based users of deritrade, Bank Vontobel’s electronic structured products platform.

Regulators must create a harmonized, robust derivatives system across domestic borders to avoid a race to the bottom on issues such as margin requirements, according to Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority in London.

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined JPMorgan GBP137,610,000 (USD220 million) for serious failings relating to its chief investment office’s USD6.2 billion London Whale trading losses, that were sustained last year.

The Federal Reserve isn’t in the habit of shocking the markets. Back in 1994, when it surprisingly hiked rates, the central bank triggered a major sell-off in the bond markets.

Investors are trading credit linked notes on Portugal Telecom to take advantage of positive basis on the name, when credit default swaps trade wider than cash bonds.

Strategists at Société Générale are tipping a long credit default swap, long stock trade on a basket of 24 European names that are likely to be impacted by increased M&A activity in the coming year. The names are based in Europe—to avoid any negative impact on equities of the Federal Reserve’s plans to taper quantitative easing—in three sectors including communications, basic materials and industrials.

Wells Fargo has requested that the European Securities and Markets Authority enables third country branches to choose which regulation transactions should be subject to when entering derivative contracts between local branches of third country entities.

Only a few financial firms that have signed up to the Hong Kong Trade Repository are submitting trade data, with the rest of the counterparties waiting until December when mandatory interim reporting is enforced.

Macro Risk Advisors, a boutique broker-dealer based in New York, has hired Danny Dayan as an interest rate strategist, in a newly created role.