A day after Citigroup (NYSE: C) announced key new hires targeting the European market, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) has made a splash of their own. The Charlotte based bank has hired a Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) executive to run its North American rates trading business, according to a company memo obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.
The aforementioned executive is Craig Reynolds, who will join Bank of America in August as a managing director and will be responsible for trading all rates-related financial instruments in the United States and Canada, according to the memo released to employees on Tuesday. Prior to joining Bank of America, Reynolds had been head of swaps trading at Goldman Sachs since 2009. Prior to that, he worked as a portfolio manager at George Soros’ shop, Soros Fund Management.
Although Reynolds will have responsibility over the North American market, it seems that he will be based in London and report to David Gu, BofA’s head of global rates and currencies. The London market seems to be garnering increasing importance in recent quarters,
In addition to this hire, Bank of America is also moving two existing executives to new roles. Peter Antico will become head of BofA’s global G10 currency trading business and will remain headquartered in New York. Chris Hodson will relocate to London to become head of the bank’s Europe, Middle East and Africa rates trading operation.
With increased regulatory scrutiny, and waning investor confidence in the Americas region, it seems that all of the major banks are planning expansion in the EMEA market. Fighting for market share in the area may lead to diminishing margins, but may prove to be a necessity as lines of business in the US market face increased regulation, costs of doing business, and competition. Bank of America has faced mounting losses of key personnel since the financial crisis began. Restocking the bench with key hires like Reynolds may be a sign that the tide has finally turned for them.
