Derivs - Credit

David Naville, director and head of fx structuring Asia Pacific at Barclays Capital in Hong Kong, has been promoted to managing director covering fx structuring for investment banking and corporate distribution.

Participants in the sovereign credit markets haven’t had much to go on in 2012, so when a relatively important event occurred they seized on it.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has finalized rules to implement a legally segregated, operationally commingled clearing model in the cleared swaps market.

The Investment Company Institute is suggesting some modifications to a proposed Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service rule that would ease tax burdens for funds investing in derivatives.

Fixed-income exchange-traded funds were the top performers in the sector last year, which grew 5% to USD1.06 trillion.

Francois Baroin, the French finance minister, said the government is eager to impose the so-called Tobin transaction tax on derivatives, bonds and stocks.

Benjamin Welsh, formerly a head of foreign exchange sales at Goldman Sachs and head of currency trading and sales for North America at HSBC, has joined Jefferies as managing director and head of fx based in New York

Hedge funds have been tranche trading on the Markit North American Investment Grade indices during the first week of 2012, sending volumes surging.

Traders are expecting option strategies on Markit’s CDX index to increase in volume by as much as 50% over the next year as hedge funds, asset managers and other funds look for more liquidity beyond single-name credit-default swaps and cash.

A U.S. bank was in the market snapping up USD500 million in calls on the Australian dollar/U.S. dollar cross Tuesday and Wednesday.

JPMorgan Asset Management India has named Namdev Chougule as head of fixed income.

Royal Bank of Scotland is said to have retained Lazard to advise on reducing the size of its investment-banking operations, which may include an option to sell part of them.