Derivs - Equity

Crédit Agricole will hand over its equity derivatives portfolio to BNP Paribas to wind down the positions. The deal takes effect Jan. 2014 and follows an April announcement by CA of plans to close the business as part of a EUR250 million cost-cutting strategy.

Investors have been shorting convexity on the Nikkei 225, selling 1.5x Dec. 2013 strangles with strikes of 13,000-and-16,000 versus buying 1x Dec. 2013 straddles with strikes at 14,500.

Deutsche Bank has added trading capabilities for U.S. equity options to its Autobahn platform.

Société Générale has hired Herve Gallo, the co-founder of Occitan Capital Partners, and Christopher McNally, a partner at the London-based hedge fund.

Jamie Kermish, the former co-head of equity derivative distribution for Europe at Morgan Stanley in London, has joined Mariana Capital Markets as a partner in London.

The Australian Securities Exchange started trading on its S&P/ASX 200 Volatility Index futures on Monday.

A potential mismatch could arise if Japan’s Financial Services Agency looks at using trust accounts for the segregation of client collateral when it implements the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives, according to market officials.

The results of the Global Derivatives Survey have been revealed. Subscribers can view the rankings of sellsiders, interdealer brokers and law firms active in the global derivatives market.

Nomura’s hybrid structured products business is growing in Korea, with investors looking to products that combine credit, rates, equity and fx underlyings, according to John Goff, head of global markets structuring in Hong Kong. The business is partly driving higher structured product revenues for Nomura in Asia.

Credit Suisse is seeing a spike in callable barrier reverse convertibles volumes on its electronic structured product click’n trade platform, my Solutions, following the addition of the payoff to the platform in the summer.

Yann Le Her, head of equity derivatives trading, Americas at HSBC in New York, is relocating to the firm’s Paris office.

The Singapore Exchange has reported a 16% increase in derivatives revenues year-on-year in its first quarter results for the 2014 fiscal year. Derivatives revenue was responsible for 28% of total revenues of SGD184.1 million at the exchange, which is a 15% increase in total revenues year-on-year.