Derivs - Credit

Holders of PDVSA’s 2017 bonds were suddenly filled with dread by Tuesday’s close as rumours of the overdue maturity payment being made could not be confirmed. Its credit default swap price worsened on the expectation a credit event would be declared.

A high stakes game of chicken is taking place between US and European regulators, with the spectre of fragmentation in derivatives markets looming. But there's been no proper dialogue between the two sides.

The head of the foremost derivatives regulator in the US, Christopher Giancarlo, has issued a warning to European regulators on incoming regulation, condemning “costs and regulatory burdens” to the US economy.

A credit index trader at Société Générale in London, Gamal Selvarajah, has left the bank, GlobalCapital can confirm.

A top US regulator at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday slammed the “one-size-fits-all philosophy” of the organisation's prior leadership.

Waiting for a default on Venezuela’s bonds has been like waiting for Godot. Low oil prices and macroeconomic mismanagement have led to a catastrophic collapse in economic activity. Our colleagues in country risk are forecasting a 7.5% GDP contraction.

Deutsche Börse marked the first run for its regulatory reporting hub this week, as the reporting obligations for the revised EMIR technical standards came into effect.

Euronext has finalised a collaboration agreement with LCH, which will continue to provide derivative and clearing services to the exchange for the next 10 years.

Interest rate derivatives enjoyed increased popularity this quarter as their traded notional rose 9.8% to $46.4tr year-on-year, according to a report by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. The rise was accompanied by a 5.6% trade count increase.

London based clearing house LCH Group has revealed that John Horkan, the head of its North American operations, will become COO of the company.

The US Federal Reserve has delayed implementing a highly unpopular record-keeping tweak that many clearing banks had feared would increase their institutions’ capital buffers by 50bp.

The FCA has imposed its first fine for failure to report derivatives trades under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) — but endemic cultural issues in large banks suggest it won’t be the last.