Structured Retail 

• RBS Index Head Departs 03/12/2010 03:18 PM GMT  

  Laurence Black, head of custom indices at Royal Bank of Scotland in London, left the firm a few days ago and is reportedly heading to Barclays Capital in a similar role.

• UBS Faces Additional Lehman-Linked Note Claim 03/10/2010 08:26 PM GMT  

  Another claim has been lodged today in the U.S. against UBS over Lehman Brothers-linked structured notes, alleging they were mis-sold. The claim filed by Naples, Fla.-based law firm Vernon Healy on behalf of a Houston businessman is for USD800,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

• Swiss Private Bank Plots Asia Equity Push 03/10/2010 03:52 PM GMT  

  Private banking group EFG International is looking to expand its Asia structured products platform under its subsidiary EFG Financial Products.

• Lux Boutique, Swedbank Launch ‘Airbag’ Fund 03/09/2010 04:37 PM GMT  

  Structured products boutique Luxembourg Financial Group and Swedbank recently launched a fund that uses short- and long-term options to capture growth from a range of underlyings while employing a mechanism to help mitigate losses in case the fund performs badly.

• StanChart To Launch HK Warrants Biz 03/05/2010 03:10 AM GMT  

  Standard Chartered has formed a warrants group in Hong Kong and is targeting its first issue in May, pending a license from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

• Industry May Define Reverse Converts Risks For FINRA 03/04/2010 10:37 PM GMT  

  Structured products professionals are preparing a menu of risks associated with marketing reverse convertibles. The move comes after the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority raised concerns about how they have been marketed.

• Patrick Pearson Exclusive Q&A 03/04/2010 06:42 PM GMT  

  Patrick Pearson, head of financial markets infrastructure within the European Commission's internal market division in Brussels, told Derivatives Week in an exclusive interview with London reporter Rob McGlinchey that the Commission is collecting data from dealers and end-users with a view to drawing up a benchmark of bid/ask spreads. The aim is to help shave users' hedging costs and determine how expensive it would be on top for users to clear their trades.

• USD/CNY Target Redemption Forwards Find Favor 03/04/2010 12:30 AM GMT  

  Private banking clients are looking to target redemption forwards to profit from an anticipated strengthening in the yuan against the U.S. dollar.

• Callable Note Investors Score Profit 02/25/2010 10:14 AM GMT  

  Institutional and retail investors who invested this time last year in callable yield notes referencing multiple indices have pocketed millions in recent weeks, following banks’ announcements of their 2009 profits.

• Greenwich: HSBC Tops Barclays In U.S. Retail Mart 02/24/2010 09:45 PM GMT  

  HSBC came first in Greenwich Associates’ rankings of U.S. retail structured products market penetration, taking the top spot held by Barclays Capital in 2007, the last time Greenwich conducted the survey.