Three Credit Trading Traders Leaving Standard Chartered

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Three Credit Trading Traders Leaving Standard Chartered

Bloomberg -- At least three people involved in credit trading are leaving Standard Chartered Plc amid a debt crisis in China and an unprecedented selloff of fixed income in the world.

Duncan Robinson, global head of credit flow trading, is leaving the firm, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly. The people said that two traders who mainly focused on Chinese junk bonds are leaving.

A Standard Chartered spokeswoman didn't say anything about the exits. Robinson could not be reached for comment.

Credit traders are struggling with the volatility in China's beleaguered junk dollar-bond market after Beijing moved to reduce reckless borrowing by real estate firms, sparking a selloff. Banks and fund managers have been hit by property stress, while a slowdown in home sales is threatening an economic recovery. Pressure is adding to the global rout in markets that are currently being squeezed by Federal Reserve policy tightening.

China's junk dollar-bond market fell for a ninth month in May, the longest losing streak on record, as new stress broke out among the nation s property firms.

China Evergrande Group, once the country's biggest developer, was labeled a defaulter for the first time in December after it missed payments on several bonds. Others, including Sunac China Holdings Ltd. and Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd., followed.

The financial institutions and trading desks have been hit by the meltdown. Wealth managers have been cutting leverage for clients that are backed by Chinese real estate bonds, exacerbating swings in the debt market.

Standard Chartered's operating income for credit trading fell 16% in the first quarter when it booked a $160 million credit impairment related to China commercial real estate exposure. HSBC Holdings Plc posted a similar charge in the first three months, adding to a $450 million charge in the fourth quarter.

The high-yield bond funds managed by UBS Group AG and Value Partners have suffered steep declines in the past year on the cash crunch in China's property market.

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