PEOPLE

HSBC's treasurer in Bombay, John McGowan, is transferring to Hong Kong to oversee development of regional treasuries, a new position, say officials. He is being replaced in Bombay by John Bowen, who was previously with HSBC in London in charge of Asian currencies. Meanwhile in Tokyo, HSBC Midland hired T. Takashima to head the forward trading desk. He previously held a similar position at BZW in Tokyo.

Nomura Research Institute has named Bronwyn Curtis as deputy manager director and chief economist, officials say. Curtis will both support the treasury division of Nomura Bank International and the international markets division of Nomura International, playing a key role in the development of Nomura's market-orientated research, officials say. Curtis joins from Deutsche Morgan Grenfell where she was global head of foreign exchange and fixed income strategy. She was also responsible for economic and fixed income research at Deutsche Bank in London and jointly responsible for fixed income strategy for Deutsche Group.

Officials at DMG say the bank already has a strong team in place and the position will be filled in due course. Simon Fry, managing director for international markets division at Nomura, welcomed the appointment. "We are delighted that Bronwyn is joining Nomura. Her proven expertise will further reinforce Nomura's position as a leading institution in the international capital markets."

Curtis is a graduate in economics and mathematics from La Trobe University in Australia and subsequently completed an MSc at the London School of Economics.

Keith Sedergreen recently transferred to Hatori Marshall's in Tokyo as managing director. He was previously director of forwards at MW Marshall in London. In Tokyo, Sedergreen replaces John Hannaford, who has retired.

Dresdner Bank has hired David Ogg as FX manager, a position created specifically for him. Ogg was former head of trading at HSBC Midland and was among those released when the bank pulled out of the New York interbank market. He took up his post last Tuesday, November 19, and will be reporting to Paul Loffredo, senior vice president and treasury manager in New York. "We've been in the rumour mill in the past few months that either we're shutting down or cutting back, but we are, obviously, definitely not," says John Stapleton, head of institutional sales at Dresdner. "We are committed more so than ever to the FX business in North America. David Ogg's appointment is a glaring reflection of that commitment."

Dresdner has also hired three more traders for the emerging markets desk, but Stapleton was unable as yet to release their names.

Merrill Lynch has hired Harry Freeburg, chief dealer FX options at Standard Chartered, as an options trader in its Singapore office. Hitoshi Yoshida, global and forwards head in Singapore, is transferring to Tokyo where he will head the sales desk. Another hire is Richard Mara, previously of HSBC Midland, as a senior salesperson in New York. Both Yoshida and Mara will be reporting to Wayne Grigull, managing director and head of global FX institutional sales. Grigull is based in New York but has responsibility for Singapore and Tokyo as well.

Former chief dealer Seth Garrett, who was hired for the same position at CS First Boston (FXW, July 8), will not replaced. His duties are being handled by existing FX personnel.

Jos Heijnen has stepped down as chairman of the board of directors of Exchange Clearing House (Echo) to focus on his new responsibilities within ABN Amro Bank as senior vice president in Amsterdam, say officials. Bjorn Flismark, senior vice president of Scandinaviska Enskilda Banken and deputy chairman of the board will act as chairman.

Heijnen was a member of the steering group which decided that Echo should be created, and has acted as chairman of the board since the company's inception in 1992. His association with Echo has spanned more than six years and he helped steer Echo through the long project stage to its position now, with 20 banks having agreed to become users of the first global multilateral FX netting system.

Heijnen has also resigned as director of the board, while ABN Amro's senior vice president and directorate of risk and policy control, Bernd Sanson, was named as his replacement.