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Chester Kam, Asia-Pacific head of rates and credit trading at JPMorgan in Hong Kong, is leaving the firm at the end of the quarter, according to an internal announcement obtained by DW.

JPMorgan is preparing to launch a private banking unit in Japan in the coming months.

Long-dated implied volatility on the Nikkei 225 dropped last week, prompting talk of selling from hedge funds closing out long Nikkei vol positions.

Merrill Lynch has shifted its Tokyo-based foreign exchange sales team to Hong Kong as part of an expansion of cross-asset-class structuring.

The roles of Bill Winters, Fawzi Kyriakos-Saad and John Corrie, all senior European officials at JPMorgan, will reportedly be changed in a move to globalize business lines and center them in New York. Speculation is that Kyriakos-Saad will leave the firm (as opposed to being reassigned) but this, and the intentions of Winters and Corrie, could not be confirmed. Spokeswoman Sarah Oppler declined comment. Winters, based in London, co-headed the investment bank with Steve Black, based in New York. Their joint role is tipped to be merged under one person but it is not clear if this will be Black. The responsibilities of Corrie and Kyriakos-Saad are expected to be folded under New York colleagues.

Players were snapping up kiwi/dollar options early last week in the lead up to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's announcement on the direction of country's interest rates.

Bill Winters, co-head of JPMorgan's investment bank and Fawzi Kyriakos-Saad, head of credit and rates in Europe and global head of emerging markets, are reportedly no longer in these roles at the firm. A message left with Kyriakos-Saad's secretary was returned by spokeswoman Sarah Oppler, who declined comment. It could not be determined if these changes are part of a wider bank reorganization.

SG Corporate & Investment Banking has hired three equity derivative flow sales officials to bolster its European business.

South Africa's Standard Bank is gearing up for a major push into Asia across asset classes following a senior transfer.

Wachovia issued USD2.5 billion in subordinated notes last week in a transaction resembling a mandatory convertible that carries additional options.

Collateralized debt obligations with an underlying of credit-default swaps on leveraged loans are being structured by dealers keen to diversify underlying portfolios.

Swiss Re Capital Management and Advisory will hire several traders in the coming months for its U.S. weather and environment-linked commodities business.