Asian banks go full steam ahead on hires and issuance, while M&A news hits the structured product world.

Nomura has revealed six management appointments across its Apac equity derivatives (EQD) trading, including three new joiners from US banks.

The appointments were announced by Arnaud Lannic, head of equity products, Asia ex-Japan, based in Hong Kong SAR and Tsukasa Honda, head of equity trading, Japan, according to an internal memo seen by SRP.

The new additions are Tomiyuki Oji, Vikas Kumar, Sachin Tulshyan, Ryoichi Irisawa, Dinesh Gurnani and Haruno Tani.

Continuing on the Asia Pacific focus, SRP analysed the top underlyings in the region for H1 2023.

Thailand saw its structured note market continue to recover in H1 23 following a plunge in 2020. A group of 18 banks and securities houses marketed 10,600 structured notes worth THB53.1 billion (US$1.5 billion). This was led by Kiatnakin Phatra Securities with 3,455 products sold at THB15.1 billion.

In China, a group of 11 local and foreign banks issued 3,094 structured products in H1 2023, the majority of which are structured deposits. These cover a total of 53 underlying assets with a concentration on foreign exchange (FX) rates.  

The acquisition complements Numerix’s existing capabilities and broadens its analytics asset class coverage

SRP data registered 5,727 equity-linked investments (ELIs) and 10,072 structured deposits in Hong Kong, issued by Hang Seng Bank (8,441), HSBC (6,730), Bank of China (Hong Kong) (437), UBS (218) and Bank of East Asia (three) in H1 23. The respective issuances represented an increase from 5,390 and 5,446 year-on-year.

In acquisition news, Numerix has bought PolyPaths, a New York-based provider of analytics and risk management solutions, to ‘[expand] market expertise in structured finance and fixed income,’ the US firm stated on 2 August without disclosing the deal size.

The acquisition complements Numerix’s existing capabilities and broadens its analytics asset class coverage. The enhanced capability in asset liability management extends Numerix's reach beyond the trading book to the banking book, according to the statement.

HSBC’s revenues across global business segments increased double digits in H1 2023 while structured products’ sales volume and issuance rebounded YoY. The UK bank has reported robust earnings for the first half of 2023, with net profit doubling to US$18.1 billion, according to the bank’s 2023 interim report.

The bank’s profit before tax jumped 147% to US$21.7 billion year-on-year (YoY) – this included a US$2.1 billion reversal of an impairment relating to the planned sale of its retail banking operations in France and a provisional gain of US$1.5 billion on the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK.

Reported revenue rose 50% YoY to US$36.9 billion during the first six months, which is attributed to ‘higher net interest income in all of [its] global businesses due to interest rate rises’.

On the product front, high inflation remains one of the main topics of conversation in the UK, proving more stubborn than hoped for at the start of the year. One company responding to the theme was Idad whose inflation-linked deposit plan has a four-year tenor and offers minimum 100% capital return, plus 100% of the increase in the UK RPI All Items Index (RPI) between April 2023 and April 2027. An additional coupon of three percent is paid if the FTSE 100 Index closes at or above its initial level on 31 July 2027. The minimum investment is £10,000 and the product is available as a direct investment; Isa/Isa transfers; and for pensions, companies, trusts, charities, and offshore bonds. Barclays and James Brearley & Sons act as the deposit taker and plan administrator, respectively.

Insurance carrier Athene USA has added three new indices to its suite of retail fixed indexed annuities (FIA). The indices employ proprietary market analysis and advanced technology to optimise risk-adjusted returns across market environments. They include the S&P 500 FC TCA 0.50% Decrement Index (USD) ER (SPXFCDUE), designed in collaboration with Bank of America; the AI Powered Global Opportunities Index (AIGO), sponsored by HSBC, and the UBS Innovative Balanced Index (UBSIBAL).

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