Structured Credit / Illiquid Trading

Can anyone explain what it's like working on one of these desks? Skill set required? What specialist knowledge one requires and sources to look at?

"The desk specialises in complex and highly structured transactions in a diverse set of industries across capital structure from senior to mezzanine and hybrid capital. Examples include share backed and equity linked financings, structured loans with embedded equity, commodity and FX derivatives, and asset backed financings. Geographically, the desk focuses on corporate and sovereign opportunities primarily in emerging markets."

16 Comments
 

Asset-Backed Alert recently put up their 2006 'league tables', including CDOs. ML and Citi typically have the most (disclosed) issuances, but subcategories are dominated by different firms. Also, innovative structures often originate from European banks in this industry, so deal flow doesn't necessary mean prestige (though for both ML and Citi, amounts are good indicators).

 

Are you asking who's good at issuing structured credit or who's good at trading it? They're two really different questions. The firm that's best at structured credit trading is not necessarily the largest issuer of CDOs.

 

S & T from what I'm guessing. Google it dude..

http://corp.bankofamerica.com/public/products/credit.jsp (from B of A..there are tons of others).

I know someone working at a MM for MBs (Motrgage Backed Securities) and he sits right on the trading floors.

They basically take an asset (underlying security,....mortgages in the above case) make a security out of it (i.e. a security that offers a fixed rate of return) and trade it on the market by entering swap transactions.

 

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