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The African Development Bank is considering using credit derivatives for the first time to hedge counterparty exposure on its USD5.5 billion (notional) interest rate and foreign exchange swap portfolio. The bank, which is rated AAA by Moody's Investors Service and AA plus by Standard & Poor's, enters interest rate swaps on all of its fixed-rate bond offerings, according to Thiebaut Julin, division manager of capital markets in Paris.

Implied volatility on the short end of the dollar/yen curve shot up last week reaching 9.6% for one-month options last Wednesday before the first strikes against Iraq, up from 9.2% the previous week. One-week options, meanwhile, rocketed to 10.5%, up from 9.5% over the same period, said a trader in New York. Dollar/yen was trading at a several month-high at JPY120.60, up from JPY118.5 the previous week.

Tim Youssef, director in equity derivatives trading at Credit Lyonnais Securities in New York, has left the firm. Christian Lengelle, managing director and head of equity derivatives trading, confirmed the departure but declined further comment. Youssef, who declined comment, joined the French firm last September as part of an effort to kickstart an equity derivatives trading desk in the U.S. (DW, 9/29).

The CMA Group has issued a guaranteed note that uses a combination of constant proportion portfolio insurance (CPPI) and an options-based structure. The EUR135 million (USD143.4 million) note is linked to the Berklay Global Fund, which is a multi-strategy fund of hedge funds advised by CMA. The product has a 15-year maturity and pays a coupon of 2.4% annually and was sold to insurance groups, according to Alessandro Mauceri, ceo of a research subsidiary of CMA in Geneva.

Foreign exchange options strategists are pitching volatility trades, rather than directional trades, until they get more information about the duration and likely outcome of the Iraqi conflict, according to London-based strategists.

Aozora Bank, with over JPY5.68 trillion (USD48.1 billion) in assets, plans to launch a credit derivatives trading operation in Japan that will eventually offer credit-linked notes and synthetic collateralized debt obligations. "This market is expanding steadily and there are good opportunities for business flows and profit," said Keji Sugimoto, general manager of derivatives and structured finance. Sugimoto said the bank has hired Ishigaki Toshiya, credit trader at UBS Warburg in Tokyo, to kick-start the trading effort. Toshiya, who starts next month, could not be reached.

Macquarie Bank is looking to establish a natural gas derivative trading desk in the U.S. by year-end to complement the gas and oil derivatives business it launched in Europe and Australia in the fourth quarter. "We're relatively pleasantly surprised [by] how much market acceptance there has been for Macquarie so far," said Andrew Downe, head of treasury and commodities in Sydney. "We're looking at putting a trading presence in the States," said Downe, noting that it will likely be in New York but Houston is a possibility.

JPMorgan is planning to launch a credit derivatives index for non-Japan Asia before the summer. The index will likely be made up of around 25 liquid credits from the region, according to Nick Barnes, v.p. of Asian credit markets in Hong Kong. "It's been a success in Europe and Japan," noted Barnes, explaning the motivation for launching the product.

Laurie Medvinsky, v.p. in credit sales, which includes credit derivatives, at Merrill Lynch in New York has joined Banc of America Securities in a similar position. Medvinsky could not be reached. Andrew Kresse, principal in structured credit products to whom Medvinsky will report, declined comment. Medvinsky worked with Kresse at Merrill Lynch, until Kresse left for BofA in 2000 (DW, 4/17/00).

Credit-default swap spreads on Safeway, a U.K. grocer, whip-sawed last week, widening and tightening by as much as 100 basis points at a time, as investors and dealers reacted to news reports about bids for the supermarket being referred to the Competition Commission. "People are pretty much trading on headlines," said one trader. On Wednesday after the Department of Trade and Industry referred Wm Morrison Supermarkets, Tesco, J. Sainsbury and Wal-Mart to the Competition Commission, five-year mid-market spreads widened to about 300 basis points from the low 200bps. On Thursday, investors sold protection after Wal-Mart stated it was still interested in pursuing its bid for Safeway. Spreads tightened to 200bps/220bps by early afternoon.

Ricardo Pascoe, global head of foreign exchange, fixed income and alternative investment strategies at Commerzbank Securities in London, has been named acting managing director and head of the London office following the departure of Martin Bell. Pascoe said he will keep his existing responsibilities. Bell could not be reached.

A Morley Fund Management derivatives specialist asked sales professionals to stop offering it tax efficient products without knowing its tax structure and to only knock on his door with products specifically designed for active fund management. Among the list of instruments on the 'do' list, were equity options, convertible bond arbitrage, hedge funds and funds of hedge funds, explained Tom Wills, derivatives specialist in London. The 'don't' list includes basket trades, capital protected products, listed notes and warrants and exotic options such as knock outs or cliquets. "Many of the trades we are shown are far more suited to a high-net-worth client," Wills said. In addition, he is frequently pitched products that Morley already offers, such as baskets of other institutions' funds, CDOs, investment trusts or fund of hedge funds.