Santander’s Lehtonen joins Eurex as VP for repo and FI derivative sales
Elisa Letonen will be joining Eurex as vice president for Fixed Income Derivatives & Repo Sales, according to her Linked In. Her previous role she was in credit flow sales for Nordics and Netherlands at Santander’s corporate and investment banking unit. She’s also held a variety of positions at BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, according to her profile.
Investec makes senior hire for European treasury solutions team
Investec Europe announced the expansion of its Treasury Risk Solutions (TRS) team, with a senior hire in the Netherlands. Tom Doomernik joins Investec in a newly created role as Netherlands’ Business Development Team lead, reporting to the head of TRS for Investec Europe, Aisling Dodgson.
He will be responsible for building Investec’s client book in the country to support the passporting of MiFID services into the Netherlands and creating a team on the ground to effectively service the needs of the mid-market, which is a key area of focus for Investec. He will be instrumental in positioning the Netherlands as a hub to effectively service this client segment.
Investec’s TRS teams in the UK and Ireland have successfully serviced mid-market clients for over 20 years, supporting businesses to manage risk with a breadth of solutions across commodities, FX, inflation, interest rates and money markets. Services range from sophisticated currency management, a specialist FX desk dedicated to the fund and private capital sector, hedging solutions associated with commodity price volatility and interest rate and inflation risk mitigation, among others.
Doomernik is the first treasury hire for the team in the Netherlands and brings with him a decade of corporate banking and forex experience. He previously held a senior role at Ebury, a fintech company, and worked at Rabobank where he was a director focused on SMEs and mid-sized clients.
The hire follows the appointment of Danielle van den Elshout, who joined Investec in the Netherlands to launch its integrated asset-based (ABL) and cashflow lending offering in the region.
Aisling Dodgson, head of Treasury Risk Solutions for Investec Europe, said in a statement: “Corporates with international operations and supply chains face a range of challenges that are only heightened during times of economic uncertainty. Demand for managing exposure to the associated risks is increasing and we offer a range of solutions for mid-sized corporates who are otherwise poorly served by retail or large investment banks.”
Doomernik said in a statement: “Corporates must be more agile than ever, and I look forward to working with the wider team at Investec Europe to support clients with a personal service complemented by a digital platform that puts clients in control of their risk management strategy.”
SFT: Maybank hires new head of Securities Financing for Asia
Malaysia’s Maybank has selected Darren Measures as head of securities financing for Asia at its Singapore office, reporting to head of prime brokerage business for Asia, according to Securities Finance Times.
He joins from Citi where he served as director at its Hong Kong office for nearly seven years, being responsible for prime brokerage, futures, and securities services sales. Measures has also worked at J.P. Morgan in collateral management and agency lending product roles.
BoC names experts to assess internal review of pandemic policies
The Bank of Canada (BoC) announced the names of three external experts who will provide an independent assessment of its review of exceptional policy actions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
BoC is undertaking an in-depth internal review of its exceptional actions, including market-functioning programs, quantitative easing and extraordinary forward guidance. The Governing Council has engaged three external experts to provide an independent assessment of this review:
- Pablo Hernández de Cos, former governor of the Bank of Spain, former chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and chair of the Advisory Technical Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board.
- Kristin Forbes, Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson professor of Management and Global Economics at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee.
- Trevor Tombe, professor at the University of Calgary’s Department of Economics and the director of Fiscal and Economic Policy at The School of Public Policy.
“It is critically important to learn from our experience through the pandemic and its immediate aftermath to sharpen our response to the next crisis,” said Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, in a statement.”The diverse perspectives of these experts will help us draw the right lessons from this unprecedented crisis.”
The BoC’s pandemic review will look at the context and the timeline of the central bank’s policy actions, assess their effectiveness, and identify lessons learned. It will also identify key questions to guide future discussions should the need for exceptional policy measures arise again in the future.
The external expert assessment will evaluate whether the Bank’s review is comprehensive and balanced, and whether it has identified the most relevant lessons to inform future policy. Both the Bank’s internal review and the external assessment will be published near the end of this year.
NY Fed appoints Anat Gourji as chief financial officer
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced that Anat Gourji has been named chief financial officer and head of the Corporate Group. In this role, she will also be a member of the Bank’s Executive Committee. Gourji’s appointment to this role will be effective in October 2024.
“Anat brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for the New York Fed’s priorities, cultivated throughout her career,” said John Williams, president and chief executive officer of the New York Fed, in a statement. “She stands out as an exceptional leader with a commitment to mentoring talent and has a deep understanding of the Bank’s infrastructure and operations.”
“Having dedicated my career to the New York Fed, I am thrilled to take on this leadership position and further contribute to this mission-driven institution. This is a unique opportunity to implement my technology, financial and resource management, and mentorship experience to this role,” said Gourji in a statement.
Throughout her career at the New York Fed, Gourji has advanced into increasingly senior positions in the Technology Group. She is currently the Group’s chief operating officer, a position she has held since 2013. In this role, she successfully oversees the New York Fed’s business technology, partners with National IT and other Reserve Banks to contribute to industry-wide best practices, and effectively manages a significant operating budget.
In a separate statement, the NY Fed announced the appointments of Gary Dake and Nicole Russo to the New York Fed’s Second District Advisory Council, which is comprised of senior business leaders to provide high-level insights about business and economic conditions
Wells Fargo hires genAI team lead and new head of Technology
Wells Fargo & Company named Bridget Engle as senior executive vice president (SEVP) and head of Technology, reporting to Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf. She will be joining the company’s Operating Committee.
She brings more than 30 years of experience managing large, global technology organizations in complex financial institutions. Engle joins Wells Fargo from BNY where she served as SEVP and chief information officer (CIO) from 2017 until earlier this year. Prior to her role at BNY, she served in several roles at Bank of America, including as the CIO of Consumer Banking as well as CIO of Global Banking and Markets, and in various roles at several other financial institutions earlier in her career.
In addition, Tracy Kerrins will serve as the head of Consumer Technology and will lead a new generative AI (genAI) team, which will be responsible for driving the adoption of genAI across Wells Fargo, reporting to Engle.
Scharf said in a statement: “Generative AI can help us transform our businesses, improve our customer and client experiences, and enhance the way we work. Our new generative AI team will work closely with our data and technology platform management teams, as well as each business, on identifying and delivering on the potential of generative AI responsibly.”
Engle said in a statement: “I look forward to working with the team to continue to deliver modernized platforms and drive innovation across the company for our customers and employees.”
Houlihan Lokey expands fintech team
Houlihan Lokey announced that Andrew Atherton has joined the firm’s FinTech Group as a managing director. Atherton is based in San Francisco and will cover multiple fintech sectors as well as fintech-adjacent enterprise software companies, working closely with his colleagues in both the FinTech and Technology groups to ensure seamless coverage across the firm’s client base.
Alec Ellison, global head of FinTech at Houlihan Lokey, said in a statement: “[Atherton’s] experience and relationships in adjacent software sectors such as governance, risk, and compliance, which reside in both FinTech and Technology, will provide highly relevant complementary expertise.”
Atherton joins from Union Square Advisors, where he was a partner advising on a broad range of M&A transactions, private capital financings, and strategic advisory assignments for clients across the fintech and enterprise application software sectors. His prior experience also includes roles in RBC Capital Markets’ Technology Investment Banking Group and Goldman Sachs’ Special Situations Group.
“Houlihan Lokey’s blend of sector knowledge, private capital expertise, and market relationships across the financial sponsors’ universe has helped establish the firm as the premier investment banking advisor to clients in the mid-cap space, and its deep commitment to client success lies at the heart of its corporate culture,” said Atherton in a statement.
ISI Markets appoints new CRO after EPFR acquisition
ISI Markets announced the appointment of Wes Schmidt as chief revenue officer (CRO) for its Data & Analytics offerings (EPFR & CEIC) on a global basis. This announcement follows the successful acquisition of EPFR, a strategic move that further expands ISI Markets’ global intelligence platform and rebrands the company as ISI Markets.
The acquisition of EPFR enables ISI Markets to offer clients a comprehensive view of institutional and retail investor flows, fund manager allocations, and global market drivers, alongside its robust macroeconomic, industry, and financial market data. EPFR, renowned for its detailed global fund flows coverage, will operate alongside ISI Markets’ CEIC business.
Wes Schmidt, formerly CRO at Alviere, a fintech company, and previously head of the strategic accounts sales team at LSEG (formerly Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk Division), brings extensive experience in managing relationships and executing sales strategies for both buy-side and sell-side clients. At LSEG, he managed global revenue across their top 50 clients.
“Wes’ experience leading a global financial services sales organization and track record of strategically partnering with leading buyside and sell-side customers positions him exceptionally well to drive the next wave of growth with our talented sales organization,” said Stephen Pulley, CEO of ISI Markets, in a statement.
Schmidt said in a statement: “The acquisition of EPFR significantly enhances our data and analytics capabilities, providing our clients with unparalleled insights into global market trends. I look forward to working with the team to drive our sales strategy and deliver exceptional value to our clients across the financial services industry.”