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Poste Italiane, the Italian postal service, plans to add yield to its investment portfolio next year by entering fresh agreements to sell credit protection when its current credit derivatives positions expire. The company first entered the credit derivatives market early this year by selling protection on bank names with a maximum contract length of 18 months to obtain extra yield, said Massimo Catasta, financial director in Rome.

JPMorgan is in the process of closing a USD1.7 billion private managed synthetic collateralized debt obligation in Asia. Mahesh Bulchandani, managing director and head of structured credit products in Tokyo, confirmed the deal and said, "This is the largest one in Asia."

Credit derivatives houses including JPMorgan and BNP Paribas expect to launch local Asian currency-denominated credit derivatives next year. "For Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, the demand is there--it's really a matter of market makers being convinced there's enough depth in these markets," said Chris Nicholas, managing director and head of Asian credit markets at JPMorgan in Hong Kong. "I'd be very surprised if this didn't happen in certain jurisdictions," said Brian Lazell, Asia-Pacific head of credit markets at BNP in Hong Kong.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has issued two working papers on securitizations, including synthetic securitizations, and has proposed minimum capital requirements for securitizations contained in Technical Guidance under the committee's "Quantitative Impact Study" ("QIS") 3. The second working paper ("WP2") and QIS 3 were released in October, and on Nov. 21, the committee issued a series of Frequently Asked Questions and responses regarding the revised capital standards for banks it proposed in January.

Société Générale is rewarding one of its brightest marketing stars with a new job in the Golden State where he will set up a fund derivatives office. Stanislas Debreu, global head of equity derivatives sales and marketing, who is considered one of the biggest names in the business, is swapping 16-hour days and gray winters in Paris for the blue skies of Los Angeles for personal reasons, according to an official. Debreu, who is partly responsible for putting SG in the top tier of equity derivatives houses, will market guaranteed funds and alternative investment products to West Coast investors when he relocates in January. Debreu declined comment.

Data recently presented by Standard & Poor's that contain wildly diverging actual recovery rates for defaults in collateralized debt obligations have left many credit derivatives professionals scratching their heads. The data show the U.S. dollar amount CDO investors were able to recover on corporate credits after the names had defaulted and highlight what some consider to be a deeply flawed mechanism for calculating recovery values.

"We're looking for a bank that will transfer knowledge to us, not just close the deal. We want to learn how to structure these."--Eric Lin, head of structured finance at Industrial Bank of Taiwan in Taipei, about the firm's plans to structure Taiwan's first collateralized debt obligation. For complete story, click here.

Industrial Bank of Taiwan, with over TWD51 billion (USD1.46 billion) in assets, is looking to structure the first domestic synthetic collateralized debt obligation in Taiwan to remove credit risk from its balance sheet. "We want to be the first investment bank in Taiwan to do this as it will demonstrate that we have the capabilities to introduce new products," said Eric Lin, head of structured finance in Taipei. IBT is speaking with two European firms about structuring a CDO of over USD100 million and it could hit the market by the second quarter of next year, according to Lin.

Tesco Plc has entered a cross-currency interest rate swap to convert a recent EUR750 million (USD742.88 million) offering into a synthetic floating-rate sterling liability. The supermarket chain issued euro-denominated bonds to tap into demand from European investors, which included strong interest in France, Germany and some Scandinavian countries, said Keith Richardson, treasurer in Cheshunt, U.K.

Nascent hedge fund manager Pirate Capital is considering selling covered calls in order to ramp up returns in its soon to be launched Jolly Roger Fund. Andrew Stotland, director of sales in Greenwich, Conn., said the fund will primarily take long positions in U.S. equities and fixed income products. Pirate will consider selling covered call options where it sees yield boosting opportunities.

A colored-in past... At the Strategic Resource Institute's conference last Monday, formerMerrill Lynch analystMartin Fridson proposed that the audience color in black the bull logo on the visuals for his presentation on the current economy's impact on the debt market. Fridson departed from Merrill last month.

The Deal Roll-off Chart, provided by Capital DATA Loanware, lists the 50 largest leveraged credit facilities in the U.S. market that are due to mature in the coming month. It is designed to provide a look at potentially available money in the market as credits are renewed or retired.