Derivs - People and Markets

Antonio Polverino is said to have left his positions as global head of financial institutions strategic financing and solutions at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Legislators and regulators in the U.S. and Europe have been coming together to ensure conformity on margin rules for bilateral uncleared swaps, according to Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Risk management rules developed for the Hong Kong Exchange’s cash equity clearinghouse could be duplicated, or used as guidance, for the city’s over-the-counter central clearing counterparty.

Greg Smith, the now-former head of Europe, Middle East and Africa equities derivatives trading in Goldman Sachs’ London office, scathing op-ed in today’s New York Times set off a wave of reaction around the blogo- and twittersphere.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing has posted on its web site a report on consultation conclusions concerning clearinghouse risk management reform measures, which include improving its stress-testing systems and introducing a “dynamic guarantee fund” to protect against defaults.

LCH.Clearnet has received clearance from the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority to launch its over-the-counter clearing service, ForexClear, and expects to launch non-deliverable forwards in the near future.

Citigroup and Bank of America have become the first two foreign institutions to join the Bombay Stock Exchange’s derivatives platform.

CME Group said it will begin offering portfolio margining of over-the-counter interest-rate swap positions and Eurodollar and Treasury futures for house accounts on May 7.

Goldman Sachs has named Justin Gmelich as global head of credit trading, and Paul Russon, Michael Daffey and R. Martin Chavez as co-chief coos of its equities division.

Societe Generale has announced plans to launch a private investment banking service for ultra high-net worth entrepreneurs who have a holding company or family office.

Denmark’s Saxo Capital Markets has announced it will launch operations in South Africa, to be managed by Brett McLaren and Richard North.

Cantor Fitzgerald has hired James Smyth as managing director and head of its retail equity-broker-dealer group.