Derivs - Equity

Nomura will begin issuing equity-linked structures in the U.S. and Latin America as the next stage in the rollout of its medium term note program in the Americas. The move follows the launch of its Nomura America Finance issuance platform, which has been issuing structured interest rate-linked notes since the third quarter of last year.

Firms bought approximately USD1 billion in Euro/U.S. dollar forwards and just over USD500 million in U.S. dollar/Swiss franc forwards on volatility on Wednesday and Thursday, with Goldman Sachs seen as the most active participants in the trades, according to traders in New York and San Francisco.

Derivatives trading books of dealers globally fell sharply in the fourth quarter, according to the Bank for International Settlements.

Banks have lashed out at the Financial Accounting Standard Board over its proposal to eliminate an exemption for derivatives regarding the reporting of gross assets and liabilities.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has voted to extend the public comment period for proposed derivatives regulations for an additional 30 days to 60 days.

The Dodd-Frank Act falls short of considering many issues that over-the-counter derivatives will encounter with implementation of new regulations, according to Aite Group in a new report.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission appeared to still be divided on their definitions of key derivatives terms and related matters despite issuing a joint proposal without specific language on Wednesday.

Citigroup has hired Philipp Schoenhuber as a v.p. in equity derivatives strategy.

Trading of derivatives linked to California municipal bonds is dominated by six firms, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capital and JPMorgan Chase, according to disclosures to the state treasurer.

JPMorgan sold two capped daily observation knock-out structures last week linked to Ford and Corning Inc.

Earlier this month, Reporter Mike Kentz spoke to Robert Pickel, executive vice chairman of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association in New York, in the final installment of our series of interviews on swap execution facilities and derivatives regulation.

EFG Financial Products has begun marketing worst-of bonus certificates in Europe linked to a so-called cloud computing basket of three stocks.