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ING Bank has rolled out its second synthetic securitization of loans to Dutch small and mid-sized corporates, a EUR4.5 billion balance sheet collateralized loan obligation.

--Andrew Jackson, credit risk manager at Cairn Capital in London, on bespoke collateralized debt obligations tailored to one investor.

Lehman Brothers has hired Antoine Godin, a trader at Solent Capital Partners in London, as a director in proprietary trading.

Firms including Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs have started offering equity outperformance options with a conditional feature to the payout.

JPMorgan has hired Charles Chang, director of structured credit at Fitch Ratings in Hong Kong, as a credit structurer.

Merrill Lynch has merged its Asia-Pacific and Japan equity businesses into a single platform for the Pacific Rim, appointing two heads for the effort.

Synthetic collateralized debt obligations issued on a private basis are becoming more popular than the more traditional public, or syndicated, transactions.

A difference in ratings methodologies between Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings on the one hand and Moody's Investors Service on the other, may give the latter an edge with the latest trend in European structured credit.

Bear Stearns has structured a reverse convertible with a three-month maturity referencing United States Steel Corp.

Leap Wireless International, a San Diego, Calif.-based wireless communication provider, has sold 5.6 million shares via a forward sale agreement with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to fund its bid in a Federal Communications Commission airwaves auction.

UBS has hired Carmen Greco, a managing director covering emerging market equity sales at Goldman Sachs in London, in a new role.