Nomura's crowded rates business leaked its popular guy

Kilian Frensch has quietly left Nomura. Bloomberg reported today that Frensch went a few weeks ago. No one seemed to notice at the time, maybe because Nomura now has so many people in its team.

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Frensch was part of an exodus from Deutsche Bank's rates business in 2023. A popular figure at the German bank, insiders said he was a rising star at DB, "easy to work with" and well liked. He joined Nomura as head of European Interest Rate Swap trading, but since his arrival at the Japanese bank, there have been a few changes.

Firstly, Olek Gajowniczek, the tremendously moustachioed man who was originally Frensch's direct boss at Nomura, left for Balyasny last December. 

Secondly, Nat Tyce, the ex-Barclays head of global markets for EMEA at Nomura, has been building his team. Tyce was head of EMEA macro trading at Barclays and has focused on macro hires. This year, he's added Gokay Gecili from Barclays in CEEMEA FX and rates, Filippo Zorzoli from Barclays as head of global markets sales for EMEA and Rajiv Shah from BNP Paribas for GBP Swaps trading. 

Tyce's recruits have raised eyebrows among some who've suggested that Nomura's rates business is becoming overpopulated. However, as head of European rates swaps trading, Frensch, had no obvious reason to leave. It's likely that he's joined a hedge fund, or maybe even Citadel Securities.  

Now that Frensch has left Nomura it's possible that other ex-Deutsche Bank hires might leave too. Hemish Shah, for example, followed him to the Japanese bank in early 2024 and became head of EMEA flow rates trading there in March 2024.

Nomura has also lost rates traders in the US. Richard Volpe, its global head of dollar interest rates, left in December last year. His whereabouts remains a mystery.

Nomura declined to comment. Tyce might miss Frensch. When Frensch arrived at Nomura two years ago, Tyce declared that he would, "help deliver a deeper swaps offering and improved execution capabilities....” However, it's understood that Frensch had a strong Nomura deputy in the form of Lee George, another ex-Deutsche Bank trader and "legend", who is likely to assume his role.

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