Ross: Funny Guy |
Will Ross, global head of asset-backed research at ABN AMRO in London and a longtime fixture of the European structured finance market, has resigned. Ross is said to be relocating to Hong Kong to work in the Asian debt markets, but it could not be determined which firm he is joining. Ross, reached on his cell phone, confirmed his resignation but declined further comment. Ross, who's been a fixture in European ABS research for the last decade, is known for injecting humor into his reports and is a frequent--and enthusiastic--member of the conference circuit, where he often causes entire rooms to erupt with laughter.
Ross reported to Roger Appleyard, global head of credit research at ABN AMRO. Appleyard did not return calls by press time. Alex Evans, spokesman, said the bank is looking to fill Ross's role internally. Harpreet Parhar, analyst in ABS research who has been working with Ross for a year and a half, is the interim head of ABS research for the bank.
Prior to joining ABN AMRO, Ross was a v.p. in ABS research at Merrill Lynch, and before that worked at J.P. Morgan, both in London.
Ross's departure comes on the heels of three defections from ABN AMRO's commercial mortgage-backed securitization team, headed up by Doug Tiesi: Andrew Haines, director responsible for U.K. CMBS origination and execution, left recently to join GMAC Commercial Mortgage Europe, along with Sam Mellor and Bob Reid.