Derivs - People and Markets

Hedge funds and corporates are preparing themselves for a European Commission mandate raising capital charges for over-the-counter derivatives and forcing more capital to be set aside for non-cleared trades.

Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital will likely remain the leading firms remuneration-wise for credit and fx derivatives professionals in 2010--despite both announcing plans to restructure their compensation schemes.

Certain of the current proposals threaten to reduce or restrict the availability of customized risk management tools without contributing in any significant positive way to the Treasury's goals of reducing risk and ensuring financial stability. --Bob Pickel, executive chairman

A number of court rulings and jostling by claims holders will likely keep the Lehman Brothers estate workout front and center in 2010.

Volume is set to increase in the longevity derivatives market next year, as firms that built life settlement portfolios in the hopes of securitizing them look to reduce longevity exposure through swaps.

Disputes between Lehman Brothers International (Europe) and its counterparties over the value of derivatives contracts could increase substantially next year.

Retail structured product sales in Taiwan are set to be thin next year as regulation targeting offshore banks has firms pulling back.

The remaining U.K. structured products providers are set to expand their offerings in 2010.

The pace of reform is expected to really pick up next year.

Retail got bullish on U.S. equities this year, but that didn't feed through to demand for complex and risky structured products.

BNP Paribas plans to expand its fx sales headcount by 20% next year, according to Garry Popofsky, managing director and head of fx and emerging market sales for the Americas in New York.

Jessica Eistrand, an ex-v.p. in structured credit sales at JPMorgan, has joined London boutique StormHarbour Partners in a similar position.