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BNP Paribas has hired George Steelman, head of fixed-income trading at Commerzbank Securities, as director and senior credit trader.

Bid/offer spreads on 10-year agency bonds may widen and the current squeezes on five- and 10-year paper may increase as agency issuance continues to fall.

Banc of America Securities has set up a new group to structure collateralized debt obligations and hired Michael Llodra, director at Citigroup, to spearhead the effort.

Banc of America Securities plans to consolidate its liquid products desks in New York and move them to Broadway offices near Times Square by the summer.

Segall, Bryant & Hamill Investment Counsel is considering rotating funds out of its 3% TIPS allocation into agencies, said Greg Hosbein, portfolio manager of $1.4 billion in investment-grade fixed-income in Chicago.

Credit Suisse First Boston has promoted a slew of people in its syndicated loan group to formalize the structure of a group that has seen significant growth in the past two years.

Victory Capital Management, a Cleveland asset manager with $4 billion under management, plans to put more money to work in high-grade corporate bonds and crossover credits, said Thomas Seay, cio for fixed income.

The European mortgage funding market has gotten off to a mixed start to the year.

High-yield underwriters in Europe including Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have eased up on structuring pay-in-kind bonds, after having whipped up issuance in the first quarter of the year.

London-based hedge fund Picus Capital Management has hired Martin Hornbuckle, head of credit strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland in London, as an investment specialist.

Financial Guaranty Insurance Company has hired Alessandra D'Imperio, managing director in credit risk management at Ambac Financial Group, as managing director and chief credit officer.

Highland Capital Management is looking to invest in leveraged finance assets in Europe and plans to launch a collateralized loan obligation or a multi-strategy fund including high-yield bonds this year, according to Jack Yang, partner in New York.