Derivs - Credit

Military tension with Turkey sent Russia’s credit default swap spread wider this week but Russia’s apparent rapprochement with the west has seen investors treat Russian bonds in a much brighter light.

Holders of credit default swaps referencing the Spanish renewable energy company have asked the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) whether there has been a bankruptcy credit event. But Abengoa had not yet formally requested bankruptcy protection as GlobalCapital went to press.

Argentina has been a pariah among international creditors for years, but its new, pro-business president may reopen the door to foreign investors — the question for derivatives players is how they can take part.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation has launched Data as a Service (DaaS), a solution that the company claims will transform the way data is accessed and presented from its clearing, settlement, servicing and trade reporting platforms.

Royal Bank of Scotland has hired a well known high yield specialist to head corporate and event driven credit trading.

Markit on Wednesday launched a new netting synchronisation service for cleared over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.

Investors are expressing optimism about the results of the European Central Bank’s stress test of Novo Banco — the so called good bank set up by regulators after the collapse of Portugal’s Banco Espírito Santo last year — despite the headlines that the regulator will require the bank to raise €1.4bn in capital.

ICAP’s agreement to sell its voice broking business to Tullett Prebon, signed on Wednesday, will free the former's profitable electronic trading, post-trade and indexing businesses from the regulatory capital pain that comes from being part of a broker. Meanwhile, Tullett Prebon will become the largest player in hybrid voice broking, taking over ICAP’s voice and information business.

The European Union has hit a big setback in its drive to overhaul financial market rules, with its chief markets regulator demanding a delay of as much as a year before implementing its flagship regulation, Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II). But market participants greeted the reprieve as a welcome and necessary delay.

Goldman Sachs this week announced the closure of its dedicated BRIC (Brazil, Russia, China and India) fund after nearly 10 years. The move signalled the end of the BRIC era, as this year saw recessions plague Russia and Brazil while growth in China stalled.

Interdealer broker Tullett Prebon has deepened its commitment to telephone trading by agreeing to buy the global hybrid voice broking and information business of ICAP.

Abide Financial, a UK based transaction reporting specialist, has applied to become a derivatives trade repository under European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) definitions.