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Buyside firms are concerned that some swap execution facilities (SEFs) may make certain derivatives instruments made-available-to-trade (MAT), which competing SEFs or clearing houses will not have the ability to support, therefore negatively impacting the portfolios that they manage.

Hedge funds and real money players have been snapping up payer spreads on iTraxx Main following the Bank of Japan’s unexpected announcement that it would increase monetary stimulus spending, resulting in a steepening of the payer smile.

Options trading volumes on the dollar against the yen has continued to spike following the Bank of Japan’s unexpected announcement that it would ramp up its monetary stimulus in another round of quantitative and qualitative easing.

Overall credit default swap notional that was reported to swap data repositories last week decreased by 21% from the previous week, according to data from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. Overall interest rate derivatives trading that was reported, also saw a decrease of 17% from the previous week.

There has been a surge in investor interest to structure cheap VIX-based tail risk trades to hedge against a sharp rise in volatility.

James Cawley, founder and ex-CEO of Javelin Capital Markets in New York, has joined BGC Partners as CEO of its swap execution facility, also based in New York.

Kokou Agbo-Bloua, the ex-head of European equity and derivative strategy at BNP Paribas in London, has joined Société Générale as managing director, global head of engineering and strategy, also based in London.

Trade reporting under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation is not working, according to the Wholesale Markets Brokers' Association, which represents a large proportion of interdealer brokers in the market.

Bloomberg has launched a so-called List Trading tool for interest rate swaps on its swap execution facility, enabling market participants to improve operational efficiency.

The dust is still settling from the results of the Asset Quality Review and bank stress tests, but it seems clear that the catharsis European officials hoped for has not materialised. The AQR, in particular, was worthwhile and bank balance sheets are more transparent. But it doesn’t follow that Europe’s banks will now embark on a lending spree. Lack of demand remains the underlying problem, which could present a challenge for Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Meanwhile, deflation looms — a scenario, incidentally, that the stress tests didn’t consider.

Market participants have relentlessly been selling risk-reversals and volatility on the dollar against the yen, as the spot rate on the pair has largely remained range-bound over recent days.

The Hong Kong Exchange has extended its After Hours Futures Trading (AHFT) session by 45 minutes for its Hang Seng Index futures, H-Shares Index futures, Mini HIS futures, Mini HHI futures and renminbi currency futures. The close of the after hours futures trading clearing session will also be extended.