Derivs - People and Markets

A new task force backed by the American Bar Association will try to answer what to do about implicit leveraging by mutual funds using derivatives, Andrew Donohue, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management, told delegates at the Mutual Fund Directors Forum this week.

Five-year credit default swaps on BMW pulled in today by 20 basis points to 170 bps, despite the auto company reporting a first-quarter loss of EUR55 million (USD73 million).

Chenavari Credit Partners, the London shop co-founded by Loïc Fery, former global head of structured credit at Calyon (DW Online, 3/30), is bringing on board five new hires.

Knight Capital Group has hired a sales executive to push its new credit default swap platform NetDelta in North America. Michael Shapiro joined as a director last month. He reports to Andrew Scott, managing director, who started in January.

Malaysia’s central bank is expected to allay market concerns that it would prohibit close-out netting on derivatives should a domestic financial institution fail.

John Sisterson, head of equity financing for Nomura in Asia, left the firm last week.

Harley Evans, manager of equity derivatives at Mako Financial Markets in New York, recommends hedge funds buy or sell VIX futures or options to offset movement in their over-the-counter variance swaps.

Stanford University Finance Professor Darrell Duffie argues in a new book on policy issues facing credit derivatives that the sort of central clearing platforms proposed for CDS would not have prevented outsized losses at American International Group.

CIBC has hired Philip Lawson as an executive director focusing on fx, fixed income and derivative sales to institutional investors in its financial solutions group.

Maurice Nadjar-Primack, the former head of emerging market equity trading for Russia, Eastern Europe and South Africa at Merrill Lynch, joined Barclays Capital last week.

Arnaud Joubert, head of equity derivatives research at Société Générale in Paris, is set to join Barclays Capital in London at the end of this month, replacing Aaron Brask, who recently left.

Christian Howe, managing director and head of credit trading for Asia ex-Japan in Nomura’s special situations group, is set to move to the firm’s sellside team.