Derivs - People and Markets

Australian firms preparing to register as major swap participants under the U.S. Dodd-Frank rules being implemented by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission could find it hard to comply with domestic over-the-counter derivative regulations.

Benoit Meulot, director and proprietary trader at Société Générale in Hong Kong, has joined the Royal Bank of Canada.

Attempting to simplify product information in a key information document for structured products may limit the usefulness of the disclosure and is likely to mislead investors, according to the Joint Associations Committee on Retail Structured Products.

UBS has begun cutting staff in its Tokyo and Hong Kong equity derivative sales and trading desks.

Discussions as to how capital requirements for bank exposures to central counterparties should be determined as part of Basel III have gathered pace in recent weeks. Yet, the latest proposal from the Bank of International Settlements’ Basel Committee requires further clarity and needs to be aligned with other regulatory developments, according to market participants.

LCH.Clearnet has been at the forefront of regulatory discussions globally around clearing as well as developing its multi-asset class platforms and range of products it. Rory Cunningham, director in public affairs, spoke to DI on regulatory developments in Europe, while Daniel Maguire, managing director at SwapClear U.S., Charlie Longden, ceo of CDSClear and Gavin Wells, ceo of ForexClear, looked at the developments being made at LCH.Clearnet.

U.S. firms operating in Japan are losing trades to European and domestic counterparties, as complying with Dodd-Frank rules adds an extra 10 minutes to the trading process, according to Hiroki Tomiyasu, executive director at Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities in Tokyo.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association believes U.S. central counterparty clearing rules do not reflect the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s position.

The Japan Financial Services Agency plans to push regulators in the U.S., Europe and other regions to move forward with the implementation of mandatory clearing of over-the-counter derivatives.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has hired two investment-grade credit analysts to work in its high-yield team in New York as part plans to build out U.S. operations.

Janney Capital Markets has hired Kevin Roche and Jeff Miller as managing directors as part of its move into structured product underwriting and origination.

Distinguishing or limiting the scope of eligible derivatives used by UCITS funds based on their payoff would be counterproductive as exotic derivatives can be used to mitigate risk or provide capital protection, according to the Joint Associations Committee on Retail Structured Products.