Derivs - FX

Hedge funds are profiting from one touch options on U.S. dollar/yen as spot in the pair continues to spike beyond predetermined barriers.

Nomura is considering expanding its clearing team in Asia. “It’s one of the growth areas for the bank, as we expect the market to expand quite rapidly,” Lee McCormack, client clearing business development manager in London, told DI in an interview.

Financial transaction tax proposals being drawn up by some European Union member states may force some firms to open subsidiaries outside the tax zone, according to ICAP.

Hedge funds and other asset managers are jumping in to put spreads and digitals on the U.S. dollar against the offshore Chinese renminbi.

Investors are increasingly considering fx overlays when buying equity call options on developed market indices to cheapen their long positions.

Pension funds do not have the cash needed to provide margins to central counterparties, and therefore the temporary exemption from the clearing obligation under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation is warranted, according to Steven Maijoor, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority.

As concerns over Cyprus escalate, volatility on the euro against the U.S. dollar is also increasing, causing option premium to rise.

Chinese derivative rules allowing domestic securities firms to trade over-the counter derivatives onshore have created questions over which regulator takes precedence when those firms trade with banks.

Barclays is issuing a digital capital protected note denominated in the offshore Chinese renminbi.

The industry is concerned that product intervention rules will have a detrimental effect on innovation and may risk in firms limiting their offerings to vanilla products.

MarkitSERV has launched a pre-trade credit checking hub for over-the-counter derivatives transactions.

Average transaction volume on meta-platform Derivative.com, the Swiss multi-dealer structured product click and trade platform, increased from CHF684, 344 in the four weeks leading up to Jan. 10, to CHF765, 276 during the four weeks up until Feb. 7, according to the firm’s latest client alert.