Derivs - Equity

Commerzbank is reportedly set to cut 25-40% of the Dresdner Bank equity derivatives team, currently about 100 strong, after its purchase is formally completed in March.

RBC Capital Markets has structured two new notes, each with a 20% downside cap on principal loss, seeing investor interest in ways to capitalize on what could be a near bottoming out in the equity markets.

Standard Chartered has tapped Mohammed Grimeh for the newly created role of head of trading and deputy head of global markets for the Americas.

U.K. retail house NDF Administration has introduced a kick-out structure linked to the performance of the FTSE 100.

Angus Dobbie, head of sales and structuring for equity derivatives in the Americas at Macquarie Group, left his post in New York last month.

Investors aren’t buying volatility, despite the Chicago Board Options Exchange volatility index falling to half where it was in October. The mood seems to indicate market participants are becoming immune to constant market shocks.

Len Ellis, head of equity derivatives in the Americas for Citigroup in New York, has left the bank.

The U.K. Financial Services Authority’s decision not to renew its short selling ban on financial stocks after Jan. 16 should boost liquidity in the over-the-counter swaps market and draw hedge funds back into correlation plays.

Harvest Volatility Management is preparing to launch a volatility arbitrage fund by the end of this quarter.

Brent Clapacs, London-based head of European equities at Merrill Lynch, is exiting the firm and is expected to return to his native U.S.

Compass Analytics, a mortgage analytics company, is teeing up a mid-month launch of a valuation service for players using property derivatives.

The U.K. Financial Services Authority’s decision not to renew its short selling ban on financial stocks after it expires Jan. 16 should boost liquidity in the over-the-counter swaps market and draw hedge funds back into correlation plays.