Derivs - FX

Many portfolio managers saw their hedges clipped over the last six months as breakouts in volatility were quickly reversed.

Swaps regulation needs to be overhauled in the US in order to stop trading flow moving away from trading centres in New York and elsewhere in the US to overseas markets, according to Christopher Giancarlo, Commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. GlobalCapital was granted an exclusive interview with Commissioner Giancarlo, to discuss how these flows can be reversed via regulatory harmonisation and global co-operation.

Competing markets and jurisdictions between China and Hong Kong pose regulatory uncertainty and liabilities as derivatives market participants transact on the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect, according to panellists at the Futures Industry Expo Conference in Boca Raton, Florida.

The Singapore Exchange will add new FX futures contracts on the Taiwanese dollar, offshore and onshore renminbi crosses aiming to encourage trading on electronic trading platforms and exchanges in line with global G20 reforms for the over-the-counter derivatives markets.

Giles Triffitt, the ex-head of operational risk at KPMG based in Edinburgh, has been hired as chief risk officer at Tullett Prebon based in London in a newly created role.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to extend formal recognition of covered central counterparties based in Singapore under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation.

Christopher Fix, former CEO of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, has been appointed as a managing director and head of Asia Pacific at CME Group.

Market participants have been trading vanilla options on the Australian dollar against the US dollar on the back of strong US jobs data and continued steady gains in the US currency.

One investor was seen picking up a sizeable straddle on the euro against the dollar on Thursday following a slide in the pair which resulted in the breaching of the 1.10 psychological level.

A continued strengthening of the dollar and a wave of central banking announcements have muted FX options trading despite lower premiums and falling volatility.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Reserve Bank of Australia which will allow the RBA access to derivatives data held in European trade repositories as required under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation.

The Moscow Exchange has is now trading futures contracts on the US dollar against the Canadian dollar and the US dollar versus the Turkish lira.