Derivs - Equity

David Gardahaut, an index options trader at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong, has left the firm, according to an official familiar with the move.

Dividend swaps are being touted for U.S. investors in the New Year as dividend yields appear primed for continued growth and the instruments traditionally experience low volatility, according to strategy notes from Deutsche Bank and Societe Generale.

Standard Chartered Bank has promoted Sundeep Bhandari to global head of audit for wholesale banking from his role as head of global markets for Hong Kong and Northeast Asia according to an official at the firm.

Royal Bank of Scotland strategists are recommending zero-cost risk reversals, which involve buying a put at a lower strike and a call at a higher strike, on several Asian industries due to flattened skew.

BNP Paribas has hired Joe Abbatiello as director in sales across equity derivatives and cash for event-driven clients based in New York.

Barclays Capital strategists recommend directional investors position themselves for a limited upside in the Hang Seng Index/Hang Seng China Enterprises Index and the MSCI Taiwan Index by using call spreads and call ratios, respectively.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association have warned the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against failing to specifically define the anti-disruptive practices rule in connection with the swaps market under Dodd-Frank legislation. A lack of clarity over the new rules could cause some dealers to be wary of engaging in swaps market-making activity, say industry officials.

Examiners at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Board have started meeting to hammer out how they will approach examinations of certain systemically important clearing agencies. The SEC has also hired an associate director to oversee clearing agency exams, starting Jan. 10.

Rob Heck, head of flow derivatives single stock trading at Nomura in London, has resigned, according to a firm official.

Nomura has hired Jean El Khoury as head of equity derivatives trading for the Asia Pacific region in Hong Kong.

Tudor Investment Corp. wants the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to give swap users the ability to clear over-the-counter swaps on an individual segregated account basis.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association has issued an interdealer master confirmation agreement covering equity options in emerging markets.