Merrill snares big names

NEW YORK -- US investment bank Merrill Lynch is building its global forex team by hiring key industry figures from the world's biggest FX banks.

Senior executives across the board in FX trading, sales and derivatives have already joined Merrill's global centres in London, New York and Tokyo, and industry sources expect more to follow.

In London, the bank has snared UBS Warburg's award-winning global FX options head, Adam Kreysar. He presided over a period of growth in FX options at the Swiss bank that led to top nominations for FX options in both FX Week and sister publication Risk magazine's 2001 yearly awards.

Kreysar now becomes co-head of global FX trading for Merrill Lynch, alongside New York-based Marcus Browning.

In New York, Bank of America's Greg Chow joins Merrill as global head of investor sales for FX, reporting to global head of FX Michael deSa and head of the global investor client group Doug DeMartin. Goldman Sachs institutional sales dealer Rob Catalanello joins in New York as co-head of the global FX issuer client group, reporting to deSa and head of global issuer client group Bob Lyons.

In Tokyo, JP Morgan's Takuya Kobari has joined as a senior spot trader.

Merrill spokespersons in London and New York did not confirm further appointments, although industry sources expect to see at least three more senior forex staff join the bank. In New York, Bank of America FX sales dealer Ian Stott, who left that bank in March (FX Week, April 2) and senior hedge fund sales dealer Todd Bickmeyer, who left Morgan Stanley the same month (FX Week March 18), are expected to resurface at Merrill soon.

Credit Agricole Indosuez's former chief dealer Mark Clarke, who left the bank in February (FX Week, February 25) is expected to join Merrill in London.

The roll-call of hires -- and expected hires -- represents a huge build-up for the US bank, which has previously stated its intention to focus on FX.

"Merrill Lynch is investing in FX like it has never done before -- it is ready to take its FX business to the next level," Cinta del Monaco-Kemp, deputy head of global FX at Merrill in New York, told FX Week in February. She declined to discuss the latest hires last week, while deSa was unavailable for comment last week, as he was travelling, a spokesperson said.

Merrill's expansion process started last year with the hire of former Deutsche Bank FX chief deSa. He became Merrill's global head of FX last November.

Since then, Merrill has hired Deutsche Bank's head of FX forwards, David Hoffman, Goldman Sachs' Asian head of FX William Shek, as well as dealers in London and New York (FX Week, February 11 and April 1).

The build-up in foreign exchange comes as good news to an industry fighting consolidation in other areas.

Contraction in e-FX continues (see story, page two), and last week the collapse of online forex portal Atriax cost 84 people their jobs.

Widespread cuts in investment banking at CSFB, ABN Amro and Merrill Lynch itself have also prompted fears that FX jobs could also be at risk.