Derivs - People and Markets

Aurelien Bessot, the former head of exotic equity derivatives trading at Bank of America in London, is preparing to launch a fund.

Amid dwindling demand for over-the-counter equity derivatives, Société Générale is touting its Lyxor Asset Management managed account products platform to institutional investors in Hong Kong to lure them towards more sophisticated hedging strategies.

Potential buyers are showing interest in U.K. structured products provider Arc Capital & Income, which has been forced into administration by the Financial Services Authority over losses linked to Lehman Brothers-backed investments.

Top derivatives dealers in the U.S. have been mulling what to do about a series of broker/dealers trying to get into the credit default swaps market now that exchange trading is on the horizon.

London firm Future Value Consultants is planning to roll out its independent research database for retail structured products in the U.S. in January. The service will be on a new Web site--StructuredEdge.com.

Some swap counterparties to Lehman Brothers are arguing that they shouldn’t have to make payments, even after the U.S. bankruptcy court recently ordered one such firm, Metavante Corp., to pay up. At issue is whether a firm with an open swap must keep making payments while Lehman is not making its scheduled payments.

Barclays Capital has hired Arthur Mbanefo, the former head of prime brokerage and equity financing at Credit Suisse First Boston, as its head of global equity structured products in New York.

A number of banks in Hong Kong are reviving their equity derivative prop desks after more than a year of virtual hibernation. JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank are among them.

Vikesh Kotecha, co-head of single stock equity derivatives trading at Nomura in London, is set to relocate to Hong Kong over the next few days.

Equity derivatives players in Asia are hopeful Korea’s Financial Supervisory Commission will give the green light for callable bull/bear warrants to be traded in South Korea. The Korea Stock Exchange has applied to the regulator for approval, and if accepted the market could kick off as soon as the first quarter.

Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking has added a flow credit desk in New York and has relocated Cedric Lespiau, a senior index trader from London, to head up U.S. credit derivative index products.

Rep. Collin Peterson’s over-the-counter derivatives bill, which was passed unanimously by the House Agriculture Committee yesterday, garnered Republican support while moving closer to the Obama administration’s regulatory proposal.