Derivs - Equity

With Volkswagen and Porsche having reached a merger agreement last week, equity derivatives strategists at Barclays Capital are recommending a zero-cost ratio put spread on VW stock to take advantage of high implied volatility.

Credit Suisse has cut a number of Hong Kong-based equity derivatives staffers in the past week. Among those let go are Rob Hewitt, who was hired from UBS in 2007 to head Asia ex-Japan flow trading; and Albert Yuen, who covered institutional sales in Hong Kong and China.

Société Générale has started aggressively marketing certificates of deposit linked to one of its proprietary indices, jumping into competition with BNP Paribas and JPMorgan.

Zurich-based securities dealer EFG Financial Products has made an application to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for a securities dealer license.

Morgan Stanley equity derivatives strategists are recommending option plays to take advantage of the healthcare reform risks facing some companies.

Brian Jones, head of equity derivatives sales for the Americas at Macquarie Bank in New York, has left and joined asset management firm Advisors Asset Management as director of retail sales distribution.

Thomas Vergnaud, the former managing director and head of European equity derivatives single stock trading at Dresdner Kleinwort in London, joined Citadel Investment Group last week in a new role.

Private bankers and structurers in Asia are noticing an uptick in requests for equity-linked notes containing knockout options

Markit and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. will launch their joint trade processing venture on Sept. 1 and are open to another partner should the need arise.

Deutsche Bank issued USD19.5 million in auto-call knockout notes yesterday, with terms nearly identical to the USD132 million issued by HSBC and JPMorgan last week.

UBS has been the leading issuer of callable bull/bear contracts in Hong Kong since the contracts first launched in June 2006 through to May this year.

HSBC and JPMorgan issued identical auto-call knock-out notes Wednesday, reportedly for JPMorgan Private Bank. The combined USD132 million offering was also one of the largest structured products registered in months.