Deutsche Bank is rehiring old staff in London, while Nomura bankers say they're also being targeted

Deutsche Bank is hiring in London, and it's hiring people who worked there in the past. As we were the very first to report last week, Deutsche rehired Edvin Petersson from Barclays to replace Thomas Konig who's off to Goldman Sachs. Petersson spent 14 years at Deutsche before his short sojourn at Barclays began in 2018.

This week, Deutsche has dug deeper into its back catalogue. The German bank is understood to have brought senior credit trader Bjoern Wiegelmann back on board. Wiegelmann left Deutsche for Citi in 2012.  Now he's back - although his job title is unclear.

Deutsche didn't respond to a request to comment on Wiegelmann's return. But together with the unconfirmed addition of yet another Nordic salesperson who also worked for DB in the past, it seems a pattern might be emerging. - Deutsche is persuading defectors to give it another chance. 

At the same time, investment bankers at Nomura in London complain that recruiters claiming to represent Deutsche Bank are all over them and that it's becoming a pain. "I've had about four calls from various recruiters asking me to interview at Deutsche," says one Nomura junior, speaking on condition of anyonmity. "Each time, I've refused."

One headhunter, also speaking anonymously, said it's inevitable that Nomura will be seen as a feeding-ground for Deutsche. "Deutsche is in a bit of trouble, and so is Nomura, so it's going to be easier for Deutsche to hire from Nomura than anywhere else. - If you're a recruiter at Deutsche you're not going to call people at JPMorgan with jobs."

If Deutsche is indeed targeting Nomura as well as ex-employees, the former may yet prove a fruitful strategy. "After last week's bonuses, people here don't want to stick around," says the Nomura junior. "My bonus fell this year compared to last, which is almost unheard of in IBD where bonuses usually rise with seniority."

Deutsche Bank paid its first year London associates a combined salary and bonus of £159k this year according to recruitment firm Dartmouth Partners. This rose to £214k for third years.

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