Veolia: taking XVAs by the horns

Corporates can face high but unknown funding and counterparty risk charges when unwinding trades. Damien Vancraeyneste, head of dealing room and structured finance at Veolia, says his firm has found a way to cap the costs, and will challenge banks’ own calculations if necessary

Damien Vancraeyneste, Veolia. Photo: Christian Fournier

Back in 2013, Damien Vancraeyneste returned to Veolia's trading team after eight years working in operational positions at various firms. While he managed to duck the various upheavals in the derivatives market during that period, he couldn't escape the realities when it came to executing new trades.

"I remember, in 2003, on a standalone basis, I was dealing 10-year vanilla swaps at less than a quarter of a basis point to the mid-price. Those were good times. Today, the same trade will be around