Derivs - People and Markets

The recent stabilisation of financial markets, following February's turmoil, has been good for some investors but not a positive for many trading in the options market.

Broadridge Financial Solutions, an operations and tech solutions firm, has added derivatives clearing to its post trade services by buying Dojima, another tech firm.

Allianz Risk Transfer, with the help of several partners, has created a novel hedge product to protect wind projects against the risks of intermittent wind resources, which deal watchers say could have a major impact on the market.

Global stress testing is required for derivatives clearing houses to ensure that they do not become ‘too big to fail’, the Bank of England has said.

Primary issuance of euro corporate bonds is catching up fast with the €134bn issued in the first half of 2015 .

HSBC has appointed Franck Lacour head of equities EMEA, a role he takes on while keeping his responsibilities as global head of equities trading.

Derivatives post-trade initiatives are on the rise in Asia, said post-trade services operator TriOptima, arguing that the region is trying to improve its fragmented regulatory framework and adhere to global financial standards.

Citi has made two senior appointments in its global equities division to fill the gap left by former head Derek Bandeen, who is retiring from the firm.

Concerns of rising central clearing costs are pushing derivative market participants to step up compression initiatives and shrink trade volumes to a post-2007 low, according to an industry report.

A gulf is opening up between wider financial market valuations and those of oil traders, who are pricing options to reflect the lowest chance of a downturn so far this year, even as fundamental risks mount.

China’s authorities are moving to liberalise the commodities market and introduce renminbi pricing for more and more asset classes as the country puts its focus on furthering global usage of the currency.

The US Department of Labor’s new conflict of interest regulations will change the way structured products are packaged and sold to retail retirement accounts, law firm Morrison & Foerster has warned. And although implementation is nearly a year away, the scope and complexity of likely programme changes require immediate attention from both manufacturers and distributors of structured products.