Congratulations to John Key, one of the many former global heads of FX at Merrill Lynch, who has just been elected as New Zealand’s prime minister. Key is a relative novice in the world of politics, but one could perhaps assume he learnt his skills in the tough environment that is Merrill FX.
Another master of political machination is David Gu, Merrill’s global head of rates and currency. Several of his former colleagues have expressed their admiration about his rise to the top in the run up to Merrill’s absorption into Bank of America. Gu has been named as the combined bank’s head of global rates and currency, which has resulted in Gerhard Seebacher moving back to credit.
Looking ahead, if the two arms of the combined entity do pull together, it will be an extremely powerful organization.