A pair of quantitative analysts at Standard & Poor's in London have quit and reportedly jumped to rival agency Dominion Bond Rating Service. Kai Gilkes, managing director, and Norbert Jobst, director, were part of the team responsible for developing the recently launched Evaluator 3, a new synthetic collateralized debt obligation rating model. Gilkes and Jobst could not be reached for comment, and Felicity Albert, spokeswoman at S&P, declined comment on replacements.
DBRS has been looking to build its presence in structured credit ratings, but falls behind the major three comprising S&P, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings. Several credit officials noted Canada's appetite for structured credit investments is on the rise and the firm could be looking to take advantage of this. Precise details of its plans could not be determined and Huston Lake, assistant group managing director in global structured finance at DBRS in Toronto, did not respond to a phone message about the hires by press time.
