Consolidation, fragmentation and segmentation
Merrill hires Strampolios from Goldman
Merrill Lynch’s revamp of its FX business continues; this week it is believed to have secured the services of Pam Strampolios from Goldman Sachs. Merrill declined to comment on the appointment, but market sources say Strampolios will take up a senior role in its emerging market trading team in London once she has served out her notice period.
Dresdner Kleinwort’s Hokey cokey continues. Hey!
“It’s one dealer in and one dealer out,
In, out, in, out, shake it all about.”
The affable Mike Walsh has left ABN Amro and is believed to be heading off to Dresdner Kleinwort in London to take up a position as head of hedge fund sales. Market sources say that Dresdner was not the only bank chasing Walsh’s services, which suggests several possibilities: Walsh is a superb salesman; he is a good negotiator; there’s a shortage of quality staff; or Dresdner is having to pay up to beat its rivals for quality staff. Or all four.
At virtually the same time as Walsh joins Dresdner, Marc Taylor is leaving – heading to Credit Suisse, where he will be a director in the hedge fund sales team and report to Ben Shooter, the bank’s head of European FX sales.