Derivs - Equity

The proposed requirements on loss allocations arrangements for central counterparties to cover non-default losses may put U.K. CCPs at a significant disadvantage to their European and U.S. competitors.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission is allowing participants in the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors program to trade stock-index futures.

Retail investors in South Korea have been decreasing exposure to equity-linked structured products this year, as growth in Japanese and U.S. equity markets overshadow the Kospi.

Registered swap dealers can now report over-the-counter trades for all five major asset classes to the DTCC Data Repository in the U.S., making it the first swap data repository to offer reporting across all asset classes.

Low equity index volatilities makes it a good time to engage in equity index option writing strategies, according to speakers at the Chicago Board Options Exchange Risk Management Conference in Carlsbad, Calif.

Jefferies has hired Jason Bodner, ex-partner and head of equity derivatives at Cantor Fitzgerald for North America in New York, as a senior v.p. in equity derivative sales.

Nikko Asset Management is preparing to launch March 25 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange a synthetic exchange-traded fund that will track the Nikkei. Nikko AM has USD154 billion in assets under management.

Insurers are increasingly scoping VIX in general accounts or as part of variable annuity hedging, according to Clayton Cutler, head of risk trading and portfolio management at The Hartford.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is against proposals to introduce a financial transaction tax on securities and derivatives, according to Bill Brodsky, chairman and ceo of the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

Hedge fund portfolio managers expect investors to shift to fund volatility strategies from volatility structured products.

Volatility overlay strategies are likely to increase this year as investors look to strategies providing downside protection and income generation in the current low yield environment, Nancy Davis, director of derivatives at AllianceBernstein in New York, told DI.

BNP Paribas has been seen in the Hong Kong market snapping up over USD1.2 billion of June 2013 call spreads and one-by-two call butterflies on the Nikkei over the last few weeks.