Derivs - People and Markets

Dimitri Cleanis, a v.p. in exotic equity derivatives index trading at Citigroup in London, is joining Credit Suisse in a similar role.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement wants to hire two to three seasoned structured finance specialists for new posts in its structured and new products unit in Washington, D.C., New York and other SEC offices. The division is currently 1,000 strong.

Counterparties are increasingly requesting termination event clauses in documentation that can be triggered when a counterparty defaults, leading some observers to question whether the practice will expose the market to more systemic risk.

Another claim has been lodged today in the U.S. against UBS over Lehman Brothers-linked structured notes, alleging they were mis-sold. The claim filed by Naples, Fla.-based law firm Vernon Healy on behalf of a Houston businessman is for USD800,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

Hedge funds have been buying up one-week calls on the euro against the Swiss franc this morning, anticipating the Swiss National Bank will decide tomorrow to prevent a further appreciation in the franc but that the effort may flounder ultimately.

Werner Langen, member of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, on Monday called for regulation of over-the-counter derivatives to distinguish between financial and non-financial institutions, with the former being more tightly regulated.

Private banking group EFG International is looking to expand its Asia structured products platform under its subsidiary EFG Financial Products.

Regulators want to see a tape for capturing post-trade information on over-the-counter derivatives, akin to what is used in the equity markets.

European Union representatives will propose to G20 states in June to agree to ban naked credit default swaps trading on government-backed bonds, according to Nikolaos Chountis, a member of the European Parliament for Greece.

Structured products boutique Luxembourg Financial Group and Swedbank recently launched a fund that uses short- and long-term options to capture growth from a range of underlyings while employing a mechanism to help mitigate losses in case the fund performs badly.

Andrew Kleeger, managing director and head of credit sales in Hong Kong at Goldman Sachs, has reportedly left the firm and is expected to be taking a role at UBS.

E.U. politicians have urged the European Commission and European Council not to implement a financial transactions tax on derivatives without agreement in writing from other international financial markets saying they will do the same.