Everyone's swapping jobs in the UK government bond market

The hiring merry-go-round is in full spin in the UK gilt-edged market maker (GEMM) market. In the past few months, at least three senior people have left their roles. Three may not sound like a lot, but given that there are fewer than 20 GEMM traders in London in total, it's fairly significant. - And there may be more changes to come as banks rush to fill the three vacancies that have opened-up.

In the first, Sidharth Khanna, the UK head of government bond trading. is understood to have left Goldman Sachs. Neither Goldman nor Khanna responded to a request to comment on the move, but it's thought that Khanna is off to the buy-side. 

In the second, George Tyrrell, a senior gilts and GBP rates trader at Lloyds, is understood to have quit in the past two months. Tyrrell also didn't respond to a request to comment. Unconfirmed reports suggests he's off to replace Khanna at Goldman.

And in the third move, Farzad Kassam is understood to have left Natwest Markets around two months ago. Kassam has also yet to resurface, but is thought to be going to the buy-side. 

18 banks are gilt-edged market makers in the UK. Several have dropped out in recent years due to the high capital costs of operating in the market. UBS made big cuts to its gilt desk in 2018. SocGen closed its London gilts desk altogether in 2016. Credit Suisse decided to stop being a primary dealer in London in 2015 - the same year Deutsche Bank stopped being a dealer for primary government bonds in Belgium. RBC previously cut its European government bond business in 2013. 

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