January 27, 2012

There is some indication that the Europeans are beginning to realize that their voluntary debt exchange idea is stupid:

Opposition to payouts on Greek credit-default swaps from European Union policy makers is softening as disputes over a voluntary debt exchange threaten to push the nation into default.

Any agreement between the Greek government and the Washington-based Institute of International Finance on debt writedowns will only bind 50 percent of investors in the 206 billion euros ($270 billion) of notes being negotiated, Barclays Capital estimates. Hedge funds may resist a deal, seeking to get paid in full or compensated from insurance contracts.

“Politicians seem less concerned than before about CDS triggers,” said Michael Hampden-Turner, a credit strategist at Citigroup Inc. in London. “Having a payout on Greek CDS is probably better than the alternative: a loss in market faith of the product’s ability to provide a hedge against sovereign risk.”

Officials, including former European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, have insisted that a swaps trigger was unacceptable because traders would be encouraged to bet against indebted nations and worsen the crisis.

Fitch is not impressed:

Spain, Italy, Belgium, Cyprus and Slovenia had their debt ratings cut by Fitch Ratings, which said these nations do not accure [sic] “the full benefits of the euro’s reserve currency status.”

Ireland had its ratings affirmed by Fitch. The outlook on all six nations is negative.

But fear not! Soon credit rating agencies in Canada will have a lot more forms to fill out and boxes to tick and regulatory employment will increase so everything will be fine!

Canadian securities regulators are preparing to impose new rules on agencies that assess the creditworthiness of the millions of dollars in debt issued by corporations, governments and other instructions.

The Canadian Securities Administrators said Friday that credit ratings agencies in this country who want their opinions to be eligible for use under securities laws will need to apply to become a “designated rating organization.”

The Volcker Rule continues re-shuffle the deck:

Citigroup Inc. (C), the third-biggest U.S. lender, will close a proprietary-trading desk that makes bets with the firm’s own money and most of the unit’s staff will leave before rules banning the practice take effect.

Citigroup is shutting the Equity Principal Strategies business and most staff will leave the bank after Feb. 6, according to a memo by Derek Bandeen, head of equities for the New York-based bank, and obtained by Bloomberg News.

“Pursuant to various regulatory initiatives and changes, we have made the strategic decision to exit the Principal Strategies business,” Bandeen said in the memo. “The team, led by Sutesh Sharma, have been aware of this for some time and have worked diligently to wind down the positions over the last few months.”

Sharma intends to form a hedge fund, two people familiar with the matter said in August. His Citigroup team managed about $2 billion, one of the people said.

It was another mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, as the (relatively tiny) PerpetualDiscounts index shot ahead 54bp, FixedResets lost 6bp and DeemedRetractibles gained 9bp. Volatility was good, skewed to the upside; volume was above average.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.5933 % 2,371.6
FixedFloater 4.71 % 4.08 % 42,119 17.25 1 0.5982 % 3,312.4
Floater 2.82 % 2.98 % 63,870 19.77 3 0.5933 % 2,560.7
OpRet 4.93 % 1.29 % 69,731 1.30 7 0.0601 % 2,508.9
SplitShare 5.31 % -0.28 % 70,419 0.87 4 -0.3196 % 2,633.9
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.0601 % 2,294.1
Perpetual-Premium 5.41 % -5.67 % 94,185 0.09 23 0.0498 % 2,212.8
Perpetual-Discount 4.99 % 4.98 % 180,463 15.50 7 0.5416 % 2,426.9
FixedReset 5.03 % 2.74 % 211,302 2.34 65 -0.0562 % 2,383.3
Deemed-Retractible 4.89 % 3.56 % 202,525 1.68 46 0.0889 % 2,309.6
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
BAM.PR.R FixedReset -1.92 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-01-27
Maturity Price : 23.51
Evaluated at bid price : 26.04
Bid-YTW : 3.78 %
BNA.PR.E SplitShare -1.18 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2017-12-10
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.31
Bid-YTW : 5.58 %
RY.PR.A Deemed-Retractible 1.03 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-05-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.57
Bid-YTW : 3.63 %
ELF.PR.G Perpetual-Discount 1.05 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-01-27
Maturity Price : 22.60
Evaluated at bid price : 23.00
Bid-YTW : 5.18 %
PWF.PR.A Floater 1.20 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-01-27
Maturity Price : 21.00
Evaluated at bid price : 21.00
Bid-YTW : 2.49 %
BAM.PR.J OpRet 1.31 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-03-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 27.16
Bid-YTW : 3.25 %
POW.PR.D Perpetual-Discount 1.66 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-10-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.07
Bid-YTW : 4.99 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
GWO.PR.G Deemed-Retractible 78,380 Nesbitt crossed 60,000 at 25.25.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-12-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.26
Bid-YTW : 4.86 %
RY.PR.A Deemed-Retractible 63,595 Desjardins crossed 25,000 at 25.57.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-05-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.57
Bid-YTW : 3.63 %
MFC.PR.B Deemed-Retractible 58,743 Nesbitt crossed 50,000 at 23.95.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.80
Bid-YTW : 5.37 %
BNS.PR.N Deemed-Retractible 54,015 TD crossed 50,000 at 26.71.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-01-29
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.68
Bid-YTW : 2.35 %
PWF.PR.F Perpetual-Premium 52,900 TD crossed 49,900 at 25.42.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-02-26
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.35
Bid-YTW : -12.17 %
HSB.PR.D Deemed-Retractible 33,000 TD crossed 30,000 at 25.65.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-12-31
Maturity Price : 25.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.66
Bid-YTW : 4.28 %
There were 37 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
PWF.PR.A Floater Quote: 21.00 – 22.10
Spot Rate : 1.1000
Average : 0.7107

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-01-27
Maturity Price : 21.00
Evaluated at bid price : 21.00
Bid-YTW : 2.49 %

BAM.PR.R FixedReset Quote: 26.04 – 26.67
Spot Rate : 0.6300
Average : 0.4015

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-01-27
Maturity Price : 23.51
Evaluated at bid price : 26.04
Bid-YTW : 3.78 %

BAM.PR.I OpRet Quote: 25.52 – 25.99
Spot Rate : 0.4700
Average : 0.3172

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2012-02-26
Maturity Price : 25.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.52
Bid-YTW : -2.63 %

ENB.PR.B FixedReset Quote: 25.72 – 25.99
Spot Rate : 0.2700
Average : 0.1586

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2042-01-27
Maturity Price : 23.36
Evaluated at bid price : 25.72
Bid-YTW : 3.67 %

BAM.PR.O OpRet Quote: 26.10 – 26.49
Spot Rate : 0.3900
Average : 0.2812

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Option Certainty
Maturity Date : 2013-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.10
Bid-YTW : 2.12 %

BNA.PR.E SplitShare Quote: 24.31 – 24.70
Spot Rate : 0.3900
Average : 0.2889

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2017-12-10
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.31
Bid-YTW : 5.58 %

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