Where are they now? Michael Philipp, former head of global asset management at Deutsche Bank, hands me a business card that reads: “Vision Fuel Services, Peachtree Street, Atlanta”, a company of which he is “principal”. Is it an opticians or a fuel supplier? “It’s my son’s business,” he says, none too helpfully.
The trend for cross-asset trading has spawned a new product, equity default swaps. Supporters are championing their advantages but, says Natasha de Teran, it is likely that EDSs will have to jump through a few more hoops before take-up is widespread.For some banks the fall in equity prices and the demise of the dot.com-fuelled equity investing culture happily coincided with an increased focus on credit risk management and the fast development of the credit markets. Those that managed to gain a lead in the rapidly growing credit sphere have reaped the rewards.