Four Senior Treasury Managers Quit Midland Global Markets In London

Midland Global Markets (MGM) has lost four senior executives in treasury in the past few weeks. David Gelber, MGM's chief operating officer, quit at the beginning of March, according to bank sources. He was followed by Vib Baxi, director of interest-rate proprietary trading, Gerry Reynolds, head of money markets and Michael Burton, chief of foreign exchange sales and marketing, all of whom resigned about two weeks ago, bank officials confirm.

Neither Gelber nor Baxi has resurfaced yet, while Reynolds may leave the markets altogether, sources say. Burton has moved to Goldman Sachs, Goldman officials confirm, although they were unable to say what his exact function will be.

The departure of Gelber and Baxi from MGM breaks up what was formerly a tightly knit team also comprised of MGM head Guy Heald and MGM foreign exchange director Rob Loewy. This 'gang of four' moved together from Chemical Bank in London to Hongkong and Shanghai Bank in London in January, 1989, and then as a management team to MGM when HSBC and Midland merged in 1992. In the last jump they went from running a fairly small, lean organisation to heading one of the largest trading rooms in the world, a shift that some sources say may have caused some friction.

Heald declines to comment on rumours of personality clashes between himself and Gelber. Nor will he discuss Baxi's move in December to the proprietary trading slot from his former position as head of money markets - Reynolds had only been in that position a few months. Some reports have suggested that tensions over Baxi's large 1993 bonus also contributed to his departure, but Heald prefers not to comment on that score either.

Some market sources, however, suggest that the timing of the four's exit may have less to do with internal politics at MGM and more to do with the usual moves that take place in the markets just after traders receive their bonuses: MGM paid out in February for 1993. A spokesperson for MGM says that the bank "regrets the departures, but that the success of our treasury operation means that our trading executives are a natural target for other banks."

According to Heald, Burton's former job will be split into two parts. Rex Hamblett, formerly in charge of marketing the bank's treasury portfolio management services, will be taking over FX marketing, while Alan Clarke, formerly Burton's number two, will head FX sales, he says. Sales, explains Heald, is the execution of customer trades while marketing involves cultivation of new and existing client relationships.

Allen Carding, a senior money-market trader at MGM, will fill Reynold's slot as money-markets chief, says Heald. No one has yet been officially named to replace Gelber as operations chief, he says. However, Barbara Carroll, Gelber's deputy in treasury operations, is widely expected to get the job.