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Nabeel Naqui, senior trader in structured credit products at Bank of America in London, has left the firm.

HSBC has hired Rod Prat, head of European sales in the financial institutions group at Deutsche Bank in London, as a managing director and head of sales for Europe and the Middle East in its global markets division.

Abby Flamholz, head of convertible bond trading at Banc of America Securities in New York, has left the firm.

KBC Alternative Investment Management, which has USD3.7 billion under management, is expanding its credit arbitrage operations in both London and New York.

Research into recovery rates on collateralized debt obligations of CDOs shows that typical CDOs of CDOs will produce low recoveries.

Fitch Ratings plans to hire a chief accountant to overview structured trades, corporate ratings and act as an internal resource for the agency.

Structurers, investors and analysts met at London's Barber-Surgeon's Hall last week to hear the latest research and methodology changes at Fitch's Global CDO Forum.

HSBC plans to start offering credit derivatives in Taiwan in the coming months.

Altaf Kassam, executive director of derivatives and trading research at Goldman Sachs in London, has left the firm. Kassam said he has another job, but declined to name his future employer.

Irish Life & Permanent, the Dublin-based life assurer and mortgage lender, has converted a GBP500 million (USD937 million) bond issue to a synthetic euro-denominated liability via the currency swap market.

JPMorgan has hired James Smith, an equity derivatives marketer at Goldman Sachs in New York, for a similar role covering insurers.