Senior traders are swapping out of Deutsche's rates business

Now that Deutsche Bank has paid its bonuses, a trickle of its rates traders are coming onto the market. This is despite Deutsche's plan to boost its rates business in 2016 after doubling revenues in the area last year. 

Recent exits include Kilian Frensch, the ex-Credit Suisse rates trader who joined Deutsche as a vice president last August and Vladimir Kobelev, a director in rates options trading who joined Deutsche in 2007. Steven Li, a rates derivatives trader at the German bank, also left at the end of December.

Ashok Venkiteswaran, a director in cross-assets correlation trading (rates, equities and FX), who joined Deutsche as a VP in August 2005, has left too.

The exits follow a report suggesting that Deutsche's rates business has had a difficult start to the year. Deutsche declined to comment, but insiders caution against reading too much into the moves. Frensch is understood to have left for personal reasons and Deutsche's rates business is said to be making money this year and to be hiring. - Deutsche recruited Bennit Shah, a director-level European government bond trader from BNP Paribas in January, Jiaxi Chen, an analyst-level rates options trader from Credit Suisse in December, and Igino Napoli, a director-level former Commerzbank trader, sometime this year.

Deutsche's exiting rates traders are not without options. The bank ranks third globally in G10 rates according to Coalition and its traders are well-respected. They could always approach Campbell Gilbert, the bank's former co-head of EMEA linear rates trading, who joined Mizuho last June, and might be hiring.

Photo credit: Rubik's Cube Redux by Christian is licensed under CC BY 2.0.