Fixed income professionals said the imminent departure of Credit Suisse First Boston’s CEO, John Mack, is unlikely to spark a fixed-income reorg. Mack made his stamp on fixed income at the beginning of last year when he hired Jerry Wood, a Morgan Stanley veteran, to be global co-head of fixed income with Jim Healy. This was interpreted at the time as Mack filling the division with his loyal lieutenants. CSFB watchers said Wood and Healy’s positions appear solid.
Since Wood’s arrival, CSFB has suffered a slew of credit derivatives departures. Mark Davies, former managing director and global head of credit derivatives, jumped to Bear Stearns mid-last year to head credit derivatives trading, and has since taken several former colleagues with him.
Meanwhile in structured credit, CSFB has seen an exodus of staffers to Merrill Lynch, headed by Chris Ricciardi, former head of U.S. CDO origination at CSFB, who joined Merrill last March as head of global CDO structuring and origination (DW, 3/6). CSFB has also undergone several reorganizations of its business, most recently including the merger of its cash and derivatives activities in both credit and interest rates (DW, 5/9).
