Derivs - Credit

Clearing of over-the-counter interest rate swaps via Singapore Exchange’s central clearing counterparty DerivativesClear rose in January for the first time in three months to SGD12.92 billion (USD10.34), from SGD1.26 billion (USD1.01) in December.

After a strong performance in January, the sovereign credit market began the current month on a relatively quiet note.

The possibility of a euro member leaving the currency union—and even the European Union itself—is increasingly center stage for firms and their advisors who are poring over contracts to assess whether they need revision.

Australia’s legal definitions for derivatives are working effectively and should not be simplified further through changes to the nation's main financial markets law, according to the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee.

The European Central Bank’s longer-term refinancing operation is providing less incentive for hedge funds to trade European sovereign credit-default swaps since they are less concerned about tail risk.

After a strong performance in January, the sovereign credit market began the current month on a relatively quiet note.

Deutsche Bank and Citigroup continue to dominate international fixed-income, each with an 11.5% market share, according to Greenwich Associates.

Hector Cortes, an ex-managing director in structured product sales at Nomura in New York, has moved to PrinceRidge Group in New York to head fixed income structured products institutional sales for Latin America.

EFG Financial Products has launched a multi-barrier reverse convertible structured product on three oil service company stocks denominated in XAU, the trading unit for gold.

Global macro-focused hedge funds were buying credit-default swaps on U.S. sovereign debt today.

If requirements for minimum block sizes for credit-default swaps are improperly gauged, firms could get a 30-minute window into large trades by taking advantage of overlapping laws requiring transparency and automatic sweeps from swap execution facilities.

The negotiations for the appropriate haircut for private sector involvement in a voluntary Greek debt restructuring continue.