Deutsche Bank: Big spender
Deutsche Bank is emerging of one of the big recruiters in the first quarter.
The German bank has announced plans to add five M&A bankers to its Paris office, and there are reports that it intends to add another six or seven bankers to its global energy M&A team. It has also hired Malik Chaabouni, co-head of synthetic structuring at Merrill Lynch in London, and Mike Lamb, a senior FIG banker from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
The rush of recruitment follows reports of high bonuses and a 57% increase in pre-tax profits last year at the corporate and investment banking arm of Deutsche, to €4.3bn ($5.2bn). Chief executive Josef Ackermann said the bank wanted to expand its presence in the US and emerging markets, and would hire selectively in London and Frankfurt.
However, headhunters caution against overexcitement concerning Deutsche's expansionary pretensions. "What you are seeing are replacements rather than expansion," says one.
He points out that Deutsche suffered several departures from its energy investment banking team last year: David Waring quit for UBS in June, apparently taking junior staff with him. Similarly, Charles Murphy, head of financial institutions at Deutsche, left for Credit Suisse First Boston in March 2005.
More recent departures include David Wood, head of the bank's corporate finance business, and Andrew Coyne, former head of foreign exchange prime brokerage.
