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OKO Bank Consolidated, the commercial banking arm of the Finnish OKO Bank Group that has EUR32.5 billion (USD34.76 billion) under management, is planning to make its first foray into credit derivatives. The bank will use credit-default swaps to hedge its loan portfolio and also is planning to become a dealer, according to Eero Ketola, an official in the group treasury in Helsinki. The bank does not plan to invest in credit-linked notes or structure collateralized debt obligations, he added.

The Council of Europe Development Bank has entered a cross-currency interest rate swap to convert a recent USD750 million bond offering into a synthetic euro-denominated floating rate liability. Arturo Seco, deputy funding manager in Paris, said the council entered the transaction because it converts all non-euro debt into its home currency and fixed-rate debt into floating. In the swap, the council is receiving the 3.75% fixed coupon on the bond and paying three-month Euribor plus a spread.

The French regulator has told French mutual funds they will be given approval to use credit derivatives--a development that has banks lining up to tap this enormous potential market. Derivative bankers were reluctant to put a dollar amount on the potential notional size of the market, but one said, "We think it's huge."

Behnouche Mostachfi, head of foreign exchange options at Commerzbank Securities in London, has left the firm and Nozar Hussein, head of proprietary fx trading, has been appointed as acting head of both groups. The departure comes amidst rumors that Commerzbank is scaling back its fx options presence, with several rival traders saying the volume of business they conduct with the German bank has fallen. Ricardo Pascoe, global head of corporate risk and capital structure in London, said trading volumes have fallen because the firm has switched to executing more customer-driven business than proprietary trading and therefore moves in and out of positions less frequently. Mostachfi did not return calls and Hussein declined comment.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association set March 17 as a tentative date for switching to the 2002 credit derivatives definitions during a conference call on Wednesday. The definitions are expected to be sent to the printers the week beginning Feb. 3, allowing a six week gap to allow firms to update their systems and train their staff. Lawyers involved in the process anticipate the switch over will go smoothly as they have had several changes in documentation, such as including restructuring supplements, recently.

Australia's Macquarie Funds Management, with nearly AUD30 billion (USD17.6 billion) under management, is looking to launch two domestic equity funds in the coming months that will employ over-the-counter options. "These will have a mix of qualitative, quantitative and trading strategies," said Phil Dolan, head of investment research in Sydney.

Hedge fund giant Soros Fund Management is on the prowl for credit derivatives traders for its flagship Quantum Endowment Fund in New York. The hedge fund, which is the sixth-largest fund in the world with USD7 billion under management according to Institutional Investor, is hiring to replace six convertible bond specialists, including credit derivatives staffers, who quit last summer to join rival hedge fund manager Duquesne Capital Management, according to officials familiar with the fund's plans. But it could not be determined whether the new hires are being sought only to replace the departures, or to also beef up the firm's credit derivatives trading presence. Michael Vachon, spokesman in New York, declined comment.

This article describes some of the most important steps before, during and after entering into derivatives transactions. It may help build long-term relationships and help you avoid some of the difficult problems that have beset derivatives marketers and traders. However, this is just a guide. It highlights issues rather than answers them.

Five-year credit protection on Sprint Corp. dramatically widened last week, blowing out to 530 basis points Wednesday compared with 350bps the previous week. Much of the widening was related to newspaper articles predicting iPCS Inc, an affiliate of Sprint, is close to filing for bankruptcy, according to a trader in New York. General widening of credit spreads in the telecom sector also affected protection on the name, with Sprint being one of the weakest credits in the industry alongside AT&T Wireless. The January effect, which traditionally sees the buying back of names that had been offloaded at year-end, is beginning to dissipate and buyers for the Sprint credit are not as deep as had previously been thought, he added.

Prudential Securities is structuring its first over-the-counter commodities trade as the firm plans to kick-start an OTC trading operation in softs, energy, such as oil and gas, and grains. In particular, the firm plans to shop commodities swaps and forward contracts to Latin American and Asia-based firms, where Prudential already has a strong client network, said Deborah Bonfield, first v.p. in futures marketing in New York. Offshore and U.S.-based funds investing in these regions will also be targeted to use the products for speculative purposes, she added.

"There will be a bigger and broader market."--David Lai, research team head at Yuanta Core Pacific Securities in Taipei, commenting on the development of a local currency credit derivatives market in Taiwan. For complete story, click here.