Mizuho hired New York credit MDs from Deutsche, Credit Suisse
As we've noted here before, the Credit Suisse securitized products managing directors who left for Mizuho earlier this year seemed pretty happy with their lots. This could be why some more Credit Suisse managing directors in investment grade credit have gone to the Japanese bank too.
Sources say that Mizuho just recruited Wayne Powless, Credit Suisse's head of investment grade credit sales. It's also recruited Brian Connors, a top investment grade credit trader, who spent most of his career at Credit Suisse but was latterly at Deutsche Bank.
Mizuho didn't respond to a request to comment on the moves. They come as the Japanese bank is beefing up its broader investment banking credentials with the acquisition of Greenhill, following the addition of the 20 or so Credit Suisse securitized product traders earlier this year.
Powless' inspiration for joining Mizuho is clear. UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti has been making ominous pronouncements about the "massive downsizing" he has planned Credit Suisse, and has suggested it won't be dissimilar to the big cuts he made when he joined UBS over a decade ago. Most of those cuts affected the fixed income trading business, and this time around Ermotti has made it clear that FICC is his least fond division again.
Connors' incentive for exiting Deutsche Bank is less apparent. He only joined the German bank at the end of August last year, and was there for less than 12 months. Connors has been in the market since 1998 and has bounced between Credit Suisse, Citi and Morgan Stanley during his career, but has never left a job in such a short time frame before.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
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