Derivs - Equity

Bank of America Merrill Lynch equity derivatives strategists are recommending mileage options for both cheap downside protection and upside capture on Asian indices.

The majority of bonuses for 2010 paid out to equity derivative traders, structurers and salespeople globally are likely to be lower than for 2009.

Iron condor option strategies are being tipped to grow in usage by pension funds and hedge funds next year given the forecasts of range-bound equity indices. Strategists are pitching the play as providing relatively high returns with downside protection.

The growing offshore renminbi deposits and RMB-denominated bond market in Hong Kong will set the stage for the currency’s over-the-counter derivative development.

A recent proposed rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission implementing shareholder voting procedures on executive compensation packages will largely exclude lower-level employee bonuses, including derivative traders who on occasion make more than their executive bosses, according to lawyers in New York.

FM Capital Partners, the London-based hedge fund backed by the Libyan government's sovereign wealth fund, has hired Alex Darré, the ex-head of hedge fund strategies for Europe, Asia and the Middle East at Goldman Sachs Asset Management in London.

Rabobank International has hired Patrick Nsoudou as a senior equity derivatives trader in London in a new role.

The South Korean Financial Services Commission plans to enhance regulation on some aspects of over-the-counter and listed derivatives next year, including margin requirements, according to its recently-released 2011 Financial Policy Agenda.

Mandating daily portfolio reconciliation on swaps between financial entities would not raise costs for swap dealers and major swap participants, according to staff members from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued Kent Ralph Emerson Whitney for allegedly running a fraudulent scheme to avoid posting margin on substantial options positions he held.

The International Accounting Standards Board is considering revamping how to account for changes in the liability of put options on shares held by non-controlling interest shareholders.

Chris Neale, head of index flow trading at Macquarie in London, has left the firm less than a month since joining.