American investment bank Jefferies has poached another series of investment bankers from Credit Suisse, a blow to the Swiss bank's leveraged loans franchise.
The Swiss bank has already taken Jefferies to court over four managing directors who walked this summer. Now, New York-based Jefferies has struck again, taking a chunk of Credit Suisse's leveraged loan team as well as another investment banker.
The bankers who will leave Credit Suisse include Jonathan Moneypenny, a 20-year veteran of the Swiss bank who will co-lead global leveraged finance capital markets at Jefferies, with Jefferies' Brian Wolfe, according to «Reuters».
Later on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Credit Suisse said the bank had been successful in thwarting Moneypenny's departure – he will remain at Credit Suisse after all.
Jefferies has also hired Joseph Kieffer as U.S. head of leveraged capital markets, John Bown as head of loan sales, Brad Capadona as a managing director in loan trading. Another banker who was set to join the U.S. investment bank as co-head of leveraged finance origination, Jeb Slowik, has also reversed his decision and will remain with the Swiss bank, Credit Suisse said.
Setback for Credit Suisse
The departures, though less than originally feared, are still a blow for Credit Suisse, which has a long and storied past in leveraged lending – an area which the bank has opted to retain under a massive restructuring under CEO Tidjane Thiam. Credit Suisse ranked second for leveraged finance globally last year, according to Dealogic league tables.
Hardly surprising then to see Credit Suisse swing into damage control mode over the prominent departures, with a spokeswoman emphasizing the bank's deep bench of talent and overall commitment to leveraged lending.
Separately, Jefferies also attempted to hire gaming investment banker Dean Decker from Credit Suisse to become its co-head of real estate, gaming and lodging investment banking, but he like Moneypenny, he ultimately opted to remain with the Swiss bank.
