Job Wrap: Leveraged finance grows; Nomura trims
Despite the lateness of the season, the proximity of bonus payouts, and the related need to buy out anyone moving jobs, there was a rash of job moves last week. The focus of activity was leveraged finance.
But it was no coincidence that most of the appointments in the area concerned non-bankers and junior staff, who are less likely to have bonuses to buy out.
Separately, Nomura trimmed its capital markets team, with a possible view to making its own end of year bonuses go just a little bit further.
Leveraged finance: Natexis, Commerzbank and SG add staff
Natexis Banques Populaires hired Alberto Rossignolo, an ex-Calyon banker, for a push into the Italian leveraged finance market.
SG set up an Italian leveraged finance unit, led by Thierry Martet, a director in its Paris leveraged finance team since 1998.
Commerzbank hired six analysts to expand its leveraged finance presence across Europe. London-based hires were Catherine who joined from Matlin Patterson Advisors; Lorent Oriol who joined from Calyon; and Cedric Probst who joined from Landesbank Baden Wurttenburg. Frankfurt-based hires were Heiko Teucher from Hessische Landesbank, Thorsten Behrens from Commerzbank, and Maik Zollner, a junior hire.
Capital markets: Nomura cuts, BofA and DrKW hire
Nomura made around 25 salespeople and traders redundant from its 500-strong London-based fixed income and capital markets divisions. The move coincided with the bank announcing its biggest half year revenues in investment banking since March 2002.
Bank of America hired Domenico Nardelli, head of international funding at the Italian Treasury, to help build a European frequent-borrower business.
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein hired James Robson from HSBC as a director and senior credit trader.
WestLB, the German bank, lost its second head of bond syndicate in seven months after Jean-Pierre Albin quit to join the Royal Bank of Canada. In his new role, Albin will focus on US and Canadian dollar bond syndication.
Investment banking: Lehman and Deutsche hire; UBS reshuffles
Lehman Brothers hired Hans Martin Bury, a former junior foreign minister in Gerhard Schröder's administration, as a managing director in its Frankfurt investment banking team.
Deutsche Bank hired Cyril Gasztowtt from Bear Stearns for its financial institutions group.
UBS Investment Bank reshuffled its senior management team. Jeff McDermott and Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, currently co-heads of European investment banking, and Rick Leaman, co-head of global mergers and acquisitions, were promoted to joint global heads of investment banking. McDermott and Wilmot-Sitwell will be based in London. Leaman will be based in New York.
Meanwhile, Robert Gillespie and Ken Moelis, the current global co-heads of investment banking, changed roles. Gillespie was appointed chief executive of UBS investment bank for Europe, Middle East and Africa, while Moelis will focus on his role as president of the bank.
Separately, Tony Shearer, chief executive of Singer & Friedlander, is to step down following the London-based banking and fund management group's acquisition by Iceland's Kaupthing. He will be replaced next month by Armann Thorvaldsson, Kaupthing's group head of investment banking.
Asset management: CQS hires former CSFB chief
CQS, a $5.2bn (€4.3bn) London hedge fund firm hired Christopher Carter, former chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston's European business, as chairman. Carter left CSFB last month.
Errol Francis, manager of Credit Suisse Asset Management's UK Growth & Income Fund, will take over management of all Credit Suisse income funds following the surprise exit of former manager Leigh Harrison to Threadneedle Investments.
France's SG Asset Management promoted Alain Clot from director general to chairman and chief executive.
Neil Henderson and Ramy Bourgi, senior managers at JP Morgan's securities servicing business, left the group. Henderson was head of the security business, Bourg was co-head of business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Pioneer Investments made five appointments across its product strategy and client marketing groups. Cathy Brand joined from Citigroup as head of international strategic product management and development. Annabel Faulkner joins from Axa Investment Managers as head of marketing communications. Oliver Tinkler joins from T. Rowe Price as institutional marketing manager. Mathew Diam joins from Diam International as an institutional relationship manager. And James Aylward joins from Mellon Global Investments as client services manager.
