Derivs - People and Markets

Online fx trading firm OANDA has added contracts for difference to its trading platform.

BTIG has hired Matthew Cyzer as head of European equities sales trading. Based in London, Cyzer most recently was head of European delta one execution services at Goldman Sachs.

Proposed legislation from the E.U. aimed at prohibiting naked credit default swap trading may discourage investors from investing in European corporate and government debt, a group of financial associations said in a letter to the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Barclays Capital, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nomura and UBS have teamed up to launch a hedging tool designed to lower funding costs and raise profits in sterling markets, beginning April 17.

David Chan, managing director, fixed income, currency, commodities and head of fx trading in Asia at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, left the firm late last week, according to market officials.

Payout of credit default swaps referencing Greek sovereign debt is expected to reach USD2.5 billion, based on March 15 market prices.

Hedge fund BlueMountain Capital Management has required the remaining assets of Credit Agricole’s shuttered structured-credit business, which includes thousands of outstanding derivatives contract.

Morgan Stanley is said to have received a USD3.4 billion payment from Italy to unwind the country’s interest-rate swaps, which sources said is equal to the investment’s net exposure to the country.

New York Portfolio Clearing has launched its Portfolio Risk Interactive Margin Estimator, a value-at-risk calculator.

Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, in a letter to Louis Freeh, bankruptcy trustee handling MF Global, have expressed outrage that he is seeking court permission to award bonuses to the “very people who were responsible for the firm’s operational, legal, and financial management at the time customer money disappeared.”

The Singapore Exchange has proposed changes in the way negotiated large trades are reported and registered in the derivatives market.

Macquarie Group has announced that it will expand its commodities and trading platform to include bespoke beta and absolute return commodity index products.