The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that TMX Group's Montreal Exchange plans to launch a Canadian bank credit futures contract next year. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says contracts will be based on a new index from FTSE Russell that tracks the credit spreads of bonds issued by the Big Six Canadian banks. It can be used to hedge credit risks and implement tactical strategies. "The concept was to create a product that could repatriate credit hedging that had migrated to the U.S. market," said CIBC's Karl Wildi. Investors are looking to diversify from U.S.-centric assets and investment products as President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs threaten to destabilize economies. Most credit hedging in North America is done using the Markit CDX North American Investment Grade Index, a U.S.-dollar-denominated benchmark that includes some Canadian credit. "CDX is definitely a very deep and liquid market and it is a market that Canadian investors are very comfortable with, but naturally there is divergence between Canada and the U.S. in terms of correlation," said Robert Tasca at the ME. Divergence among central bank policies has deepened in recent months, leading to investors seeking geographic diversification.