酷兔英语


Months before Bruno Iksil became famous as the 'London whale,' the trader who contributed to a loss of more than $2 billion at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., he earned a different nickname: the 'Caveman,' for pursuing trades that rivals sometimes thought were overly aggressive but often led to huge profits.


"伦敦鲸"(London whale)之称的交易员布鲁诺•伊克西尔(Bruno Iksil)导致摩根大通(J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.)出现了逾20亿美元的损失,而在几个月之前他曾有另一个绰号:"野人"(Caveman),因为他所进行的交易有时候在对手看来过于急进,但常能带来巨额利润。



Late last year, Mr. Iksil, a London-based trader in J.P. Morgan's Chief Investment Office, turned heads among fellow debt-market traders with a wager against a group of junk-bond-rated companies, traders say.


伊克西尔是摩根大通首席投资办公室(Chief Investment Office, 简称CIO)驻伦敦的交易员。据交易员们透露,去年下半年伊克西尔做空了一批债券评级为垃圾级的公司,引起了债券市场其他交易员的广泛注意。



At the time, Mr. Iksil had an approximately $1 billion bet that at least some of these companies would default on their debt in a matter of months. Many hedge funds and rival banks viewed Mr. Iksil's move as risky and took the other side of his trade.


当时,伊克西尔以大约10亿美元下注这些公司至少有一部分会在几个月之内发生债务违约。许多对冲基金和其他银行认为伊克西尔此举风险很大,他们进行了反向的操作。



But when the parent companies of American Airlines and power company Dynegy Inc. filed for bankruptcyprotection last year, Mr. Iksil's positions brought a windfall of about $450 million to J.P. Morgan, saddling hedge funds and other rivals with similar-size losses.


但当美国航空(American Airlines)和电力公司Dynegy Inc.的母公司去年申请破产保护时,伊克西尔的头寸为摩根大通带来约4.5亿美元的巨额收益,而对冲基金和其他对手则蒙受了规模相当的损失。



For some in the market, this was their first experience trading against Mr. Iksil. Some of these traders would get their revenge on Mr. Iksil months later, taking the other side of bets that contributed to the more than $2 billion of losses for J.P. Morgan and raised questions over the bank's risk controls. Mr. Iksil is expected to leave the bank but it isn't clear when, said people familiar with the situation. Mr. Iksil didn't respond to a request for comment.


一些市场参与者当时是首次与伊克西尔对赌。其中一些交易员在数月之后报了一箭之仇,这一回他们建立了空头头寸,结果导致摩根大通蒙受了逾20亿美元损失,并使该银行的风险控制能力受到质疑。知情人士称,预计伊克西尔将离开摩根大通,但具体时间还不清楚。伊克西尔未回应记者的置评请求。



Mr. Iksil's earlier big bet on a derivatives index tracking junk bonds suggests the CIO group, though it was charged with hedging the bank's overall risks, also had a history of big trades with both hefty upside and downside potential. This previous trade and its huge winnings also could help explain why J.P. Morgan gave Mr. Iksil and the CIO unit so much money to trade with and why senior executives, including Chief Executive James Dimon, weren't concerned about the risks the faulty recent trades posed to the bank.


伊克西尔早些时候对追踪垃圾债的衍生品指数大举下注,这显示出,尽管CIO的职责是对冲摩根大通的整体风险,但也曾进行过有巨大上行和下行风险的大额交易。之前这笔交易及其赢得的巨额收益也可以在一定程度上解释,为什么摩根大通会给伊克西尔和CIO部门那么多交易资金,以及为什么包括首席执行长戴蒙(James Dimon)在内的高管并没有对近期为银行带来风险的错误交易产生警觉。



Last year's junk-bond bet was among many successful moves by Mr. Iksil and the Chief Investment Office in recent years. They were part of a group that posted net income of $5.09 billion over the past three years, according to regulatory filings, over 10% of J.P. Morgan's $48.08 billion of profits over that period.


伊克西尔和CIO近年来的投资取得了许多成功,去年对垃圾债券的投资便是其中之一。监管文件显示,他们所在的集团过去三年实现净利润50.9亿美元,占摩根大通同期总利润480.8亿美元的10%以上。



The size of the group's profits and news of Mr. Iksil's previous trade may deepen questions over whether the unit's activities have been aimed at countering the bank's risks or targeted short-term trading profits. On a call with analysts last Thursday to disclose the $2 billion-plus loss, Mr. Dimon said the CIO group's intent was to hedge the company's exposures in a difficult credit environment.


该集团的利润规模以及有关伊克西尔之前交易的消息可能会加深我们的疑问。我们要问,CIO部门的活动究竟是以化解银行风险为目的,还是以获取短线交易利润为目标。戴蒙上周四在电话会议上向分析师披露了逾20亿美元的损失,他说,CIO部门的目的是在严峻的信贷环境中对冲公司的风险敞口。



In the summer of last year, Mr. Iksil began trading a derivative index tracking the credit-worthiness of 100 different junk-bond-rated companies, traders say. The index, called the CDX High Yield 11, launched in 2008, and three-year trades based on the index were scheduled to mature, or finish trading, on Dec. 20 of last year. Traders say they determined Mr. Iksil was involved by speaking with brokers who dealt with him.


交易员们称,伊克西尔从去年夏天开始交易一种衍生品指数,该指数追踪100家债券评级为垃圾级的公司的信用状况。这个名为CDX High Yield 11的指数是2008年推出的,基于该指数的三年期交易定于去年12月20日到期(即结束交易)。交易员们表示,他们通过与伊克西尔做交易的经纪人了解到伊克西尔参与其中。



Mr. Iksil took a bearish tack on these companies, traders say. He bet against a slice of the index that likely would pay off in a big way only if two or more of these companies ran into deep trouble by late December of last year. (A number of companies in the index already had defaulted by the summer of last year.) When he began shorting, or betting against, the index, it was priced at about 87 cents on the dollar, traders say.


交易员们表示,伊克西尔对这些公司采取了做空策略。他下注组成该指数的一部分公司将会违约。这样的交易只有在两家或两家以上的成分公司在去年12月底之前深陷困境的情况下,才有可能获得巨额收益。(该指数的许多成分公司在去年夏季之前已经发生了违约。)交易员称,伊克西尔开始做空该指数的时候,该指数报价为合约面值的87%左右。



As Mr. Iksil was selling, rival hedge funds and other investors became enthused about taking the other side of the trade, according to traders. The more Mr. Iksil sold of the index, the more the rivals bought, betting it would strengthen. They expected a return of about 14% by the end of the year, as long as no more than one company in the index defaulted. Their view: The companies in the index seemed reasonablyhealthy and only one, Dynegy, seemed in danger of defaulting. To cushion their downside, some of these hedge funds separately bought protection on Dynegy.


交易员称,在伊克西尔卖空的同时,与他对赌的对冲基金和其他投资者则在积极建立多头头寸。伊克西尔卖得越多,押注该指数走强的对手就买得越多。他们预计,只要发生违约的指数成分公司不超过一家,到年底就可以获得14%左右的回报。他们认为,该指数成分公司的状况都还算健康,只有Dynegy一家可能有违约风险。为缓冲下行风险,一些对冲基金另外购买了Dynegy违约保险。



In late September, with the index at about 82 cents, Eastman Kodak Co., a company in the index, surprised the market by drawing on its line of credit, something that increased the likelihood of default. That move pushed the CDX lower, to below 70 cents on the dollar, according to one trader. At that point, Mr. Iksil was sitting on paper gains, while rival traders had paper losses.


9月下旬该指数报价在面值的82%左右,当时指数成分公司伊士曼柯达公司(Eastman Kodak Co.)意外动用了信贷额度,令违约风险增加。一名交易员称,此举导致CDX跌破面值的70%。这时伊克西尔获得了账面盈利,而与他对赌的交易员则蒙受了账面损失。



Some of the hedge funds bailed out on their bullish bets, weakening the index further, giving J.P. Morgan even larger profits. It isn't clear if J.P. Morgan realized any profits at that point.


一些对冲基金减持了多头头寸,令该指数进一步走软,使摩根大通获得了更多利润。现在还不清楚当时摩根大通有没有兑现利润。



But by November, some remaining bullish traders who took the other side of J.P. Morgan's trades began doubling down on their bets on the index, traders say. Others established new wagers that it would strengthen. This buying helped the index strengthen anew to about 83 cents, likely putting pressure on Mr. Iksil's position.


但交易员称,到了11月份,剩下的一些与摩根大通对赌的交易员开始增持多头头寸。还有一些交易员新建了多头头寸。这一轮买进浪潮推动该指数再度上涨,报价升至面值的83%左右,对伊克西尔的头寸构成了一定压力。



Even after Dynegy's holding company filed for bankruptcyprotection on Nov. 7, the trade seemed like it still would be a loser for Mr. Iksil and J.P. Morgan.


即便是在Dynegy的控股公司11月7日申请破产保护之后,情况看起来似乎还是伊克西尔和摩根大通要赔钱。



Only about six weeks remained until the trade was set to expire, and another company needed to default for J.P. Morgan to make money and the bullish hedge funds to lose out.


这时候距离交易到期只有六周左右的时间了,必须有另外一家公司违约才能使摩根大通赚到钱,而让做多的对冲基金赔钱。



Some traders took to calling Mr. Iksil a 'caveman' for stubbornly pursing the trade. Mr. Iksil continued to bet against the index, however, and it soon weakened, causing a buzz among unhappy rivals, these traders say.


一些交易员喜欢管伊克西尔叫"野人",因为他一心坚持这项交易。这些交易员说,伊克西尔继续做空该指数,该指数很快就走软了,在心情不爽的对手中引起了震动。



'We called the trade the 'pain trade' and the 'widow maker'; it kept going down for no reason,' said a trader at another firm, who called his broker and says he was told it was Mr. Iksil who was doing all the bearish trading. 'It felt like Bruno was trying to wipe everyone out.'


另一家机构的一名交易员称,"我们管这次交易叫'痛苦交易'和'夺命交易',价格莫名其妙地不断下跌。"这名交易员当时给自己的经纪人打了电话,经纪人告诉他所有做空操作都出自伊克西尔之手。他说,"感觉布鲁诺在试图把所有人都清除出局。"



Then on Nov. 29, in something of a shock, AMR Corp., American Airlines' parent company and one of the companies in the index, filed for bankruptcy protection. 'People freaked out,' recalls a hedge-fund trader.


接下来,在11月29日发生了一件令人震惊的事情,美国航空的母公司、该指数成分公司AMR Corp.申请了破产保护。一名对冲基金交易员回忆道,"人们都吓坏了。"



The index weakened significantly, allowing J.P. Morgan to rack up about $450 million in total profits from the trade, according to traders. Rival firms suffered similar-size losses.


交易员们称,该指数大幅走软,使摩根大通从这项交易中总共获得4.5亿美元左右的利润。而竞争对手则蒙受了规模相当的损失。



It capped a successful year for Mr. Iksil and his group, though the profits would be more than offset this year when they shifted to a more bullish tack on corporate credit, losing $2 billion-plus in the process.


这项交易让伊克西尔和他所在的部门去年以成功收官,不过,今年的损失远远超过了去年的利润。他们今年的公司信贷投资转向偏重做多的策略,在这一过程中损失超过20亿美元。



Now, J.P. Morgan is examining whether the past successes of Mr. Iksil and his group contributed to the recent losses, perhaps because the past trades made the bank overconfident about the CIO group, according to a person close to the matter.


一名知情人士称,目前摩根大通正在研究伊克西尔和他所在部门过去的成功是否是导致近期损失的部分原因,可能正是因为过去的交易导致摩根大通过分信赖CIO部门。



Gregory Zuckerman