Crypto and next-generation technologies take centre stage, while Asian banks report record structured note issuances.

One exclusive SRP article saw Marex Financial Products roll out the Marex FP DeFi tracker, a new tracker certificate that aims to replicate the top 10 smart contract enabled blockchains that power Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and the top 10 DeFi projects built using blockchain technology.

The advantages of DeFi includes the removal of intermediaries and central control by creating self-executing contracts (smart contracts) on which the terms are written into the lines of code. Properly executed smart contracts act as a virtual intermediary executing between two parties limiting

Staying in the crypto sphere, Jacob Weinig is set to become the latest institutional investor to launch a crypto hedge fund firm. Iceberg Bitcoin Income Fund will be looking to open with Bitcoin and Ethereum options but will move on to accommodate other cryptocurrencies. Forrest Denton, a former Société Générale stock options trader, will be joining Weinig on the management team as head of research.

US index provider MerQube has appointed Julien Chuard as head of products with responsibility for creating and distributing products, and commercialising ‘large scale and highly available systems and next generation technology driven indices’. Prior to joining MerQube, Chuard was head of institutional QIS structuring at J.P. Morgan in New York and Hong Kong.

Sam Losada, co-head of the global corporate equity solutions business at Morgan Stanley in London, has added a trio of equity derivatives bankers to its equity capital markets team, including two former colleagues from BofA. The US investment bank has poached Kevin O’Sullivan as a managing director in its global strategic equity solutions team with responsibility for UK companies, private equity and family offices. Morgan Stanley has also hired Nicholas McDonald from Bank of America where he was a director, senior structurer, over the last two years. In addition, Jorge Nin Garaizabal has joined Losada’s team of bankers within its strategic equity solutions unit as a vice president, equity solutions group covering Southern Europe & CEE.

Over in Asia Pacific, Kiatnakin Phatra Securities raised THB8.3 billion (US$252.5m) across 1,616 structured notes sold in the first half of 2021, registering a strong rebound from a historical low a year ago. The securities house’s net profit also increased 16.9% to THB883.9m groupwide during the first six months of the year. Its structured products issuance saw a 72.9% climb year-on-year but was still at a distance from the level seen in H1 19 – THB12.4 billion, according to SRP data.

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) wealth management has delivered ‘a record performance’ in H1 21 posting a 23% increase income to US$1.2 billion year-on-year (YoY), boosted by sales of structured notes, FX and equities. The growth was largely supported by the UK bank’s digital investments, which brought a 27% increase of the income excluding bancassurance YoY, according to its 2021 interim report. Despite the slow-down registered in Q2, the bank’s income rose 26% to US$554m in the quarter YoY after reaching US$646m in Q1, which was down 14% YoY. 

For its part, Canadian bank Desjardins issued a total of 84 structured products during the second quarter of 2021, a 28% drop from its figure of 117 products in the same period a year prior, SRP data shows. In terms of product issuance, Desjardins issued the least number of structured products in the Canadian market during the second quarter. The top five issuer ranking was dominated by CIBC with 369 products, BMO Financial with 333 products, National Bank of Canada with 300 products, and Royal Bank of Canada with 139 products.

On the regulatory side, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the European Central Bank (ECB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ‘consult, cooperate, and exchange information’ in connection with the supervision, enforcement, and oversight of certain security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants’ that are registered with the SEC and supervised by the ECB. Under the MoU the SEC and the ECB will be able to consult, coordinate, and share information with each other with respect to these entities, including in connection with cross-border inspections.