November’s top 10 people moves: The ‘who’, ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ of the industry’s most recent restructures.
Musical chairs: someone's favourite game is another person's worst nightmare. We take a look at the top 10 people moves across the industry But we'll let you decide which category they fit into...
In no particular order, November's top ten includes:
1: RBS casualties
What? Global head of e-commerce in London and managing director & senior structured product sales in Hong Kong both set to leave the bank.
Who? Matthew Wong, the global head of e-Commerce and former global head of retail platform distribution and Ben Wilder, managing director and senior structured product sales at RBS in Hong Kong. Wilder joined RBS from Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he had been a director in equity derivatives sales since 2007.
How? Wong, will officially leave his position during the first week of December. Christian Kronseder will continue to run the e-Commerce platform at RBS and may take over some of Wong's responsibilities. Kronseder also reports to von Gunten. Ben Wilder joined the bank in July 2010, reporting to Abhinav Gorawara, head of equity and structured product retail sales. Gorawara had replaced Wong who was relocated to London after being promoted from his head of derivatives sales role to global head of e-commerce.
Why? Restructuring of the UK bank's investor products and equity derivatives (IP&ED) business. Both Wong & Wilder declined to comment.
2: BNP Paribas Greater China shake-up
What? BNP Paribas appoints head of GECD in Greater China.
Who? Hugo Leung will be the head of global equities and commodity derivatives (GECD), Greater China, and deputy chief executive officer for BNP Paribas Securities (Asia). Prior to the new appointment, Leung was the head of equity syndicate and corporate equity in Asia Pacific and has 20 years of experience in Asian equities. He will continue to cover this area of business and report to Pierre Rousseau, chief executive officer of BNP Paribas GECD Asia Pacific.
How? Leung will be responsible for GECD's Asia Pacific relations with market regulators and exchanges across Greater China and for tracking regulatory developments and their impact on GECD's business in Greater China.
Why? The Paris-based investment bank is consolidating its business strategy and looking for new opportunities in the Greater China region. The bank believes that China's economy will continue to grow and sees increasing investments from Chinese financial institutions in the offshore markets.
3: Natixis head of investment solutions departs
What? The firm's Paris-based head of investment solutions for Switzerland has left the firm.
Who? Olivier Cohen. Cohen joined Natixis in 2010 after the merger with Ixis CIB, where he had been a senior vice-president in equity structured products sales since 2006. Prior to that, Cohen spent three years at HSBC in the structured products sales team having joined from Exane, where he was also part of the equity derivatives sales team. Cohen started his career in 1997 as an equity derivatives trader at Dresdner Bank ZAO, based in Frankfurt.
How? Cohen, who left the firm yesterday, will most likely be replaced by Lior Abehassera who was senior sales equity derivatives and structured products, also based in Paris.
Why? ...
4. Former RBS head of EMEA EQD sales joins Banca IMI
What? The former head of equity derivatives and structured retail sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Latin America at The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in London, has joined Banca IMI as head of equities, based in Milan.
Who? Andrea Sozzi Sabatini left RBS in April, following the reorganization of the bank's markets management committee in March. He reported to Beat von Gunten, the global head of sales for equities and structured retail products at RBS. Before joining RBS Global Banking & Markets, Sabatini was an executive director in structured products sales at ABN Amro in London. Prior to that, he headed the Italian equity derivatives team in charge of structured products sales at Deutsche Bank, also in London. Sabatini began his career in equity derivatives at Merrill Lynch International, where he became vice president in Italian equity derivatives sales in 2000.
How/ Why? Calls to Sabatini to establish his responsibilities and reporting lines were not returned.
5: Servais and Wheatley keep chairs at Esma
What? Two of the most well-known individuals in the European structured products market have renewed their tenures at the Board of Supervisors of the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma).
Who? Jean-Paul Servais, chairman of the Financial Markets and Services Authority (FMSA) in Belgium will continue for another term as chair of the investor protection and intermediaries standing committee; while Martin Wheatley, MD conduct business at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK will continue to chair the secondary markets standing committee.
How/What? The appointments are for a period of two years and will commence on 1 January 2013.
6: Lake and de Mariveles set to depart from RBS
What? Two main casualties in the UK market of RBS's restructuring of its investor products and equity derivatives (IP&ED) business.
Who? The head of equity derivatives and structured products sales for the UK and Ireland at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), David Lake, and managing director for equity derivative sales in the UK, Zak de Mariveles, are set to exit the bank. Lake joined RBS as head of equity derivatives and structured products sales for the UK and Ireland in October 2008, reporting to Michael Nelskyla, who was then head of derivatives distribution for the Nordic region, the UK and Eastern Europe and is currently head of investor product sales for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the US. De Mariveles, managing director for equity derivative sales in the UK and the first chairman of the UK Structured Products Association when it launched in November 2009, is also set to depart. He had been managing director at RBS in the equity derivatives structured product arm since January 2006, having joined RBS from Barclays where he was also a managing director for equity derivative sales in the UK.
How? Technically speaking, both directors are still employed by the bank but they will be part of the individual consultation process into which the bank will enter with staff directly affected by the headcount reduction.
Before joining RBS, Lake ran the structured products distribution desk for the UK and Ireland at Société Générale, including the listed products platform in the UK and Nordic region.
Why? A member of the equity derivatives and structured products team in the UK told SRP that Lake "is no longer in the team" but declined to comment further. RBS declined to comment.
7: RBS moves ahead with IP&ED restructuring
What? The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is proceeding with the restructuring of its investor products and equity derivatives (IP&ED) business, following a period of consultation. The UK bank will enter an individual consultation process with the staff directly affected by the headcount reduction. The organisational changes were announced internally today.
Who? Global head of non-linear trading and investor products, Martijn van Pieterson will lead the merged IP&ED and non-linear trading business, which will change its name to derivative products and solutions (DPS). Garrath Fulford will lead the merged IP&ED and fixed income structuring teams which now become markets structuring (MS).
How? Peter Nielsen, CEO Markets at RBS, announced plans for several organisational and operational changes in its IP&ED business in late September, as a result of challenging market conditions which highlighted the need to restructure the IP&ED operation and reduce costs to remain competitive. Despite the cuts, the franchise will remain an integral part of the bank's markets strategy to complement the firm's financing and risk management.
Why? As with other structured products issuers, RBS implemented plans during the course of the year to decrease the size and footprint of its global structured products capabilities. The IP&ED headcount reduction forms part of the 16,500 employee cuts across markets and investment banking (M&IB) and a small fraction of the overall 3,800 cuts announced by the bank at the beginning of the year."We are committed to the IP&ED franchise which we are integrating with the global trading and global sales businesses," a source told us. "It makes sense to do this in line with market conditions to reduce costs, maximise synergies and stay competitive. IP&ED will still have a global presence."
8: Kilian leaves UBS in UK, Boos in US
What? UBS announced heavy cuts in its fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) divisions on 30 October as part of the streamlining of the investment bank operations which are being led by the recently appointed chief executive and head of the investment bank, Andrea Orcel. Boos and Killian are the latest casualties.
Who? Axel Kilian, head of equity distribution for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and global head of equity derivatives sales for the investment bank at UBS in London as well as Jonathan Boos, head of the US intermediary structured products group in the US, have left the Swiss bank. Boos, who was in charge of distributing UBS products across registered investment advisors, single- and multi-family offices, private banks as well as broker dealers including the bank's wealth management division, and who was also responsible for the launch of the bank's equity investor trading platform in the US, has also left as part of the restructuring of the investment bank.
How? Kilian's departure forms part of the headcount reduction exercise announced recently by UBS group chief executive Sergio Ermotti, and leads the cuts in the UK which include Luke Newman-Taylor, an executive director and equities flow trader, Thomas Peltan, an associate director in equity derivatives flow trading and Elie Scemama, an executive director in flow equity derivatives sales. Boos's responsibilities in the US will now be taken over by executive director at UBS investment bank, Vincenzo Dilullo. The new reporting lines of global head of structured products marketing, Shane Edwards who joined the Swiss bank's headquarters in London at the beginning of September, have not been disclosed. Edwards reported to Kilian. The bank's head of global equity derivatives Roger Naylor, who joined in June from Deutsche Bank, remains in the role formerly held by Jason Barron, who is now global head of financing services at the Swiss bank. Naylor will continue reporting to Mike Stewart, head of global equities at UBS. Co-chief executive officer of UBS Investment Bank, Carsten Kengeter, will be responsible for managing the exited businesses and positions to optimise risk and returns over time.
Why? A source told us that the cull is part of a "large exercise which is still in progress" and that although it is difficult to know if there will be more cuts in the equity derivatives division, "it looks like there will probably be more departures." These departures follow those in the equity derivatives Asia-Pacific team which included Matthew Pain, Yoko Omori and Satoko Hara. In addition, the Swiss bank has cut loose a number of executives in its credit structuring division including Pascal Prinz, a director in rates structuring and Hugo Woodhead, an associate director in credit structuring. Furthermore, it is understood the bank's head of fixed income, currencies and commodities Roberto Hoornweg has resigned.
9: BAML adds in delta one
Who? Giovanni Leonardi, formerly head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) delta one index and market access sales for equities at Nomura in London, has been appointed to a similar role at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML).
What? Leonardi will join the US bank in early December in London as director delta one sales and will report to Dan Katz, head of EMEA delta one and equity market finance sales and marketing.
How? Leonardi left Nomura in September, having spent two years in the delta one team. He joined the Japanese bank in 2010 from BlackRock where he was business development director. Between 2007 and 2008 he was EMEA executive in collateralised debt obligations sales - Derivative Fitch at Fitch Ratings. Prior to that, Bernardi was a sales executive at Morgan Stanley.
10: UBS trims EQD team in Tokyo, begins FICC lay-offs
What? Swiss bank UBS has begun a headcount reduction exercise in its equity and equity derivative sales in Tokyo and Hong Kong, as part of the restructuring of its investment bank.
Who? A UBS spokesperson told us that the bank has let go of a number of staff in its Tokyo equity derivatives team including Matthew Pain, executive director; Yoko Omori, an electronic trader who joined UBS Securities Asia Limited in June 2012 according to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission; and Satoko Hara, an equity derivative sales director.
How? A source told SRP that it is believed that UBS laid off around 50 traders in Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong following the announcement last week of the restructuring of the investment bank which is expected to see 10,000 job cuts globally. UBS chief executive Sergio P. Ermotti said that the bulk of the job cuts will be in London, with around 2,500 in Switzerland. Some of the executives in the FICC division leaving the bank include Sean Pepper, executive director in FICC structuring; Gavin Foh, executive director in credit structuring; Paul Carret, executive director in insurance solutions; structured credit trader Cheng Li; investment grade Asia credit trader Nick Jones; and Terrence Ho, a macro trader based in Hong Kong. In addition to these departures, UBS has also axed its commodity sales arm in Asia.
Why? UBS announced plans to reorganise the fixed income, currencies and commodities unit (FICC) as it is not cost-effective, amid regulatory demands for more capital backing. The bank's equity derivatives division will not be a focus of the headcount reduction as it has performed positively over the last three quarters.
The Swiss bank announced that the aim of the reorganisation is to focus on its private bank activities to deliver more products and services to ultra-wealthy clients, as well as cut risk-weighted assets by around CHF100bn ($107bn) by the end of 2017.
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