Derivs - People and Markets

The specter of corporates defaulting on their derivative trades is being raised as lawmaker efforts to grant margin exemptions to the Dodd-Frank Act appear to have lost steam.

Olivier Bossard, the former head of equity volatility trading at Lehman Brothers in London, has joined Macquarie Securities Group as head of equity derivatives trading based in Frankfurt.

The right way to limit mutual funds’ leverage in derivatives investments is to require funds to set up “Risk-Adjusted Segregated Amounts” (“RAS Amounts”) based on the risk profiles of the derivatives a fund owns, said a task force of fund lawyers who have been studying this subject since early 2009.

A handful of Deutsche Bank’s Asia-Pacific equity derivatives structuring team, headed by Allan Zhou, left the firm on Tuesday.

The Korea Exchange is in the process of launching a securitized derivative product into the country called a knock-out barrier warrant or KOBA.

Franck Lacour, the ex-head of equity derivatives volatility trading at Barclays Capital in London, is set to join HSBC on completion of his gardening leave.

The stalling of the European Commission’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive is fuelling the creation of new types of fund that are sparking worries among regulators, according to Nick O’Neill, partner at Clifford Chance in London.

UBS increased its revenues in equity derivatives in the second quarter of 2010 from the first, despite other dealers recording a decline in profits in the same business due to volatile trading conditions and a lack of liquidity in the market.

Daiwa Capital Markets has hired two equity derivatives traders to be based in its Hong Kong office.

Scotia Capital has hired two traders and one salesman for its structured products and equity derivatives team in New York.

The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation’s Equity Derivatives Reporting Repository will gather information on all open equity derivatives positions of its 16 member firms from July 30. The information will be sent to regulators on August 13.

Citigroup has expanded its European equity derivatives sales team with the appointment of three senior officials.