Derivs - People and Markets

Chinese banks and state-owned enterprises are trying to restructure U.S. dollar/yen swaps that will have them paying out millions of U.S. dollars if the cross breaches JPY80 barrier and the yen continues to appreciate.

Firms would be prohibited from entering into credit default swaps that relate to an obligation of that firm’s home member state under new proposals floated in Europe.

Clarke Pitts, global head of equity derivatives at Daiwa Capital Markets in London, has reportedly left the firm.

Chinese banks have begun trading credit risk mitigation warrants, the second type of credit derivative to begin trading in China.

Nomura has hired Emilia Mann as a trader of high-yield corporate credit default swaps and cash bonds in its London office.

Sovereign spreads hit a new record on Friday, despite the best efforts of European Union governments to stem the panic.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has filed a lawsuit in New York against Credit Suisse and Standard Poor’s, alleging it was misled over a structured investment vehicle entered into in 2007.

Korea has vowed to support financial markets and ensure sovereign credit default swap spreads and non-deliverable forward rates recover. The two rose sharply after the North Korean attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

European Union lawmakers want to hand to a pan-European securities regulator power to directly fine credit rating agencies for breaches of operating and reporting rules, as well as the ability to carry out random checks on ratings and conduct deeper assessments of their methodologies.

Banks are expected to start piling into trades to cover mismatches in their structured credit books.

HSBC has hired Jack Busta as managing director and head of equity derivatives flow trading for Asia in Hong Kong. He is the former co-head of equity derivative sales and trading in Moscow for Deutsche Bank.

Interdealer brokers are concerned over speculation the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will impose rules that allow swap execution facilities to access other SEFs, according to Chris Giancarlo, executive v.p. of corporate development at GFI Capital.