Back from the dead: jobs in leveraged finance
These have not been good years to work in leveraged finance. After reaching a roaring, froth-covered crescendo in 2007, the market has been dormant pretty much ever since. But now, there are signs of life.
It's not a lot of life. Figures from Dealogic show syndicated leveraged loans for European financial sponsor buyouts peaked at $59bn in March 2007; in November 2009 they stood at $2.4bn. Things are looking marginally better when you look at leveraged loans outside the private equity sector: in November 2009 they were $17bn, down from an $80bn peak in May 2007.
More promising than all of this, however, are the hiring noises coming out of banks.
Last week it emerged that Barclays Capital is transferring Michael Moravec to its London office to take control of the European leveraged finance syndicate. According to Financial News, Moravec's moving because BarCap expects a recovery in the European leveraged loan market next year.
Recruiters say BarCap's unlikely to do much in the way of leveraged finance recruiting in 2010: it cut around 20 people in June 2008, but is said to still have a sizeable team.
By comparison, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and BofA Merrill all cut leveraged finance teams, "massively and to the bone," according to one headhunter. All are therefore expected to stock on leveraged financiers come 2010. Deutsche may also recruit execution professionals in the sector, although it reputedly remains well-stocked with originators.
Nevertheless, Bruce Lock, managing director at Kinsey Allen, says there's unlikely to be a rush to recruit leveraged financiers early next year. "There will be one or two hires made. Most people remain cautious and banks want to see evidence of the return of the LBO market."
Source: Dealogic
