One of London's most senior prime brokerage professionals disappeared from Bank of America

Roy Martins, a very senior London-based prime brokerage professional, who was named in the FN100 ranking of the Most Influential People in European Finance in 2012 has disappeared from Bank of America (BoA).

Martins joined the bank in 2014 and ran its global equity swaps distribution. He's thought to have gone in a round of cost-cutting after bonuses were paid last month. BoA declined to comment.

Before joining BoA, Martins was the former head of European prime services at Credit Suisse, where he came onboard in 2007. He played a very significant role in building Credit Suisse's market share in prime brokerage which accounted for almost 20% of the European market by assets by 2013. Martins moved to an advisory role at CS in September 2013, and six months later he left the Swiss bank for good.

His earlier stints include running European financing products at Morgan Stanley for 12 years. He started working in the City in 1995, at National Westminster Bank while he was still a student. Martins graduated in Mathematics and Management from King's College London and completed an MBA from London Business School and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Martins has more going on than just his banking career. He's chairman of Pratham UK, the overseas chapter of Pratham India, a charity started by UNICEF and the municipal corporation in Mumbai for getting children in schools. In recognition of his social endeavours, Martins was selected to carry the Olympic torch through Croydon in 2012.

Martins' disappearance comes as most banks place increased emphasis on their prime brokerage businesses as a means of staying close to hedge fund clients. BofA's prime business is undergoing changes after its U.S. business was hit by a sexual harassment scandal. An executive from London has moved from the U.S. to run the pb sales team.  Martins' exit is not related to this move.

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