RBS Greenwich Adds Mortgage Traders

RBS Greenwich Capital said it hired 16 mortgage-backed securities traders and sales people, all but one of whom came from Bear Stearns.

The highest-ranking among the group, Scott Eichel, was named co-head of asset-backed and mortgage trading, alongside of RBS veteran David Cannon. The RBS release confirms media reports from late June that Eichel had agreed to join the Royal Bank of Scotland subsidiary. He had co-led mortgage-backed and asset-backed bond trading at Bear Stearns when it was acquired by JPMorgan Chase in June.

Another former Bear Stearns MBS trading co-head, Michael Nierenberg, recently was named global head of mortgages and securitized products at Merrill Lynch.

Along with Eichel, six other ex-Bear Stearns mortgage traders joined RBS. They are senior traders Adam Siegel and Paul Van Lingen, ABX trader David Dietche, CDO trader Matt Katke, CDS trader Keith Lind and ARMS trader Joe Steffa.

RBS also hired John Suh from Bank of America Securities, to trade mortgage derivatives.

Eight MBS salespeople from Bear Stearns also joined RBS. Seven are based in Connecticut, and the eighth in Los Angeles.