There have been some major exits from Barclays' U.S. industrials group

As summer arrives, U.S. M&A moves seem to be heating up. Last week saw Citi make various hires from Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and elsewhere. It also, apparently, saw some of Barclays' most senior U.S. bankers quietly resign on Friday.

Barclays insiders say that John Welsh and Onur Eken, the head of Barclays' industrials group and global head of capital goods, respectively, have announced their exits. The two men are thought to be joining boutique investment bank Guggenheim Partners.

Barclays declined to comment. Neither Welsh nor Eken responded to messages. Barclays is understood to have promoted John Lange, head of its global power group, to be head of industrials too.

Both men joined Barclays from Lehman Brothers in 2008. Welsh was promoted as head of the Americas industrials group in 2013, alongside Josh Connor. Connor subsequently left for hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management, where he runs an infrastructure fund. 

Welsh and Eken aren't the only men on the move in the industrials space. JPMorgan also hired Charles Bouckaert, an MD on the industrials team at Goldman Sachs.

Barclays' exits come after CEO Jes Staley indicated that bonuses at the investment bank are likely to be curtailed this year as Barclays reins-in costs. By comparison, boutiques like Guggenheim have a reputation for paying generously.

M&A revenues in the Americas rose 4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, whilst falling 25% in Europe and 30% in Asia ex-Japan. Barclays ranked eighth in the U.S. market, down from sixth one year previously. 

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