Credit Lyonnais' dreams of becoming an equity derivatives market maker in the U.S. looks less likely following another high-profile departure from the New York-based operation it launched in earnest in September. Christian Lengelle, managing director and head of equity derivatives for North America in New York, has left the firm amid market scuttlebutt saying the French bank is pulling back from the arena. Lengelle could not be reached and Mary Guzman, spokeswoman in New York and Jean-Paul Brasier, former head of the desk, declined comment.
Officials familiar with the situation said the writing has been on the wall since a change in management in April. Brasier was head of plain-vanilla equity and therefore responsible for the New York desk, but he became head of exotics and responsibility moved to Ahmed Bhayat, the new head of plain vanilla equity. Two officials suggested that Brasier was the sponsor of the desk and with his change in roles it no longer has a champion with upper management. Bhayat did not return calls.
Another official, however, said the French bank did not have the appetite from the start. It hired Tim Youssef, a director and senior equity derivatives trader at Merrill Lynch in New York in September, but did not build up the sales team to support trading. Youssef left the firm seven months later to join institutional broker Burlington Capital Markets, as co-head of equity derivatives (DW, 3/23). He declined comment.
