CDC IXIS Capital Markets North America has lured a 31-staffer strong securitization team from CIBC World Markets as part of its push into the U.S. securitization market. Ken Wormser, managing director and head of the asset securitization group at CIBC, is leading the charge, and will report to Ramine Rouhani, head of the capital markets group at CDC, in New York, according to an official familiar with the situation. Neither Wormser nor Rouhani returned calls.
"It's a huge hire and leaves a giant hole at CIBC," noted one head of credit derivatives at a rival firm. Recruiting a team of that size will be expensive and the move suggests an aggressive expansion stance, he added. It could not be determined whether the team will develop a global platform, or focus only on the U.S. Janine Shagoury, spokeswoman at CDC and Eric Morse, spokesman at CIBC, both in New York, declined comment.