Securitization People and Markets

Wachovia Securities added Liz Fitzpatrick as a director for its high-yield sales team, according to Jim Pierpoint, a spokesman at the Charlotte, N.C. based firm. With Fitzpatrick the HY sales team now comprises eight staffers. She will report to Gary Palmer, managing director and co-head of the high-yield desk with Tim Dowling. The position is a newly created slot. Palmer did not return calls. Fitzpatrick could not be reached to comment.

CIBC World Markets has hired Susannah Gray as a managing director and high-yield analyst focusing primarily on the healthcare sector. Ed Mally, CIBC's former head of high-yield research who was recently released from the firm, had followed healthcare, though it was not his primary coverage responsibility.

Credit Suisse First Boston's asset-backed and commercial mortgage-backed securities trading desks raised a total of $210,000 for lymphoma research last Monday night, $120,000 of which was pledged that night. The benefit was held in honor of CMBS syndicate head Barry Polen who has recently been diagnosed with the disease. The traders auctioned off the rights to shave their heads. Thirty-four Street pros were shaved, including several from other firms, including Mark Brown of Nomura Securities International, John Beaman ofLehman Brothers and John Bonfiglio of Fitch Ratings. Ben Aitkenhead, head of securitized product sales, was the night's most generous benefactor, pledging a total of $27,000 (see chart below). Aitkenhead did not respond to a phone call seeking comment by press time last Thursday.

Deutsche Bank has hired Haejin Baek, the commercial mortgage-backed securities trading chief at Nomura Securities International. She tendered her resignation at Nomura and is slated to start trading at Deutsche Bank. Baek had left the firm and could not be reached to comment.Ted Meyer, a spokesman for Deutsche Bank, confirmed the move, but declined further comment pending Baek's arrival at the firm. Deutsche Bank CMBS trading head Justin Kennedy declined to comment.

Credit Suisse Asset Management has folded the $2.5 billion in fixed-income assets from its Brundage, Story and Rose subsidiary into its own fixed-income group. The move is designed to cut costs and use its resources more effectively, according to senior fixed-income officials with knowledge of the situation.

Standard & Poor's has hired John Iten as director in its insurance rating group. The position is a newly created one. He joins from Deutsche Asset Management (formerly called Zurich Scudder Investments). Iten reports to Robert Partridge, managing director and head of S&P's insurance group. Iten says at Scudder he was senior insurance strategist in charge of the core fixed-income portfolio strategy for third-party insurance accounts. He reported to Ray Helfer, managing director in charge of the insurance group. Calls to Helfer seeking comment on whether Iten's slot has been filled were not returned by press time last Thursday.

The Italian government's latest securitization of real estate assets, the E6.7 billion SCIP 2 deal, broke new ground last week as it was the first state-sponsored securitization to conform with the new Eurostat rules announced last July. The deal used tranching instead of over-collateralization to meet the Eurostat definition of a true asset sale.

As Citigroup appears close to settling its investigation with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, at least one independent analyst is questioning the strength of its core businesses. However, a sell-sider says the financial services giant's bonds will continue to benefit from spread tightening in the corporate market.

David Maura was recently dismissed from Merrill Lynch, where he was a high-yield consumer products analyst, because of similarities between a recent research report he published and reports written by his predecessor, George Chalhoub. He has hired counsel and is attempting to resolve the situation with Merrill. Maura, hired in July, was under contract to receive nearly seven figures this January, according to one person with knowledge of the situation. Maura declined to comment on the amount he was to receive. Allan Dinkoff, Merrill's general counsel, referred calls to Mark Herr, a spokesman. "We're going to decline to comment on the substance of this matter, but we're taking a hard look at the situation and will take the appropriate course based on the hard look we're taking," Herr said.