Derivs - Equity

Bank Vontobel, a Swiss private bank, this morning issued six-month reverse convertible notes based on the share price of BP PLC, despite other European issuers shelving similar products on the name.

Rupertus Rothenhäuser, managing director and head of retail listed products at BNP Paribas, has left the firm and has joined Macquarie Securities Group as head of sales for structured products and exotics for Europe, based in Frankfurt.

Some derivatives trading could become too expensive for sellsiders outside the big five under the swaps desk spin-off provision in the U.S. Dodd-Frank bill.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway may have to post USD6-8 billion in additional collateral for its derivatives book, according to a research report by Barclays Capital.

HSBC is marketing a one-year auto-callable note linked to the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) exchange-traded fund, offering a coupon of up to 20.2%

BNP Paribas has reportedly named Stephane Ritz as the sole head of its Asia equity derivatives trading business.

Daiwa Capital Markets is reportedly the preferred bidder and in sole negotiations to buy KBC Financial Products’ warrants and convertible bond business in Hong Kong, said a person following the situation.

U.S.-based derivative-using hedge funds have been seen heading to Ireland, local attorneys report. Some of the moves are being driven the U.S. Financial Reform Bill which will make trading over-the-counter derivatives more costly.

Several major dealers are prepping inverse and leveraged inverse structured notes linked to the S&P 500 Volatility Index.

European firms have been issuing a range of structured products linked to the stock price of Transocean, the owner of the leaking Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, at a time when the option of issuing similar structures linked to BP PLC are being largely shunned by issuers.

Kiran Shah, head of index flow derivatives trading at UBS in London, has left the firm.

Standard Chartered has signed up Simon Brookhouse, a former global head of equities covering cash and derivatives at HSBC, in a similar role.