Barclays Capital plans to bolster its New York credit-default swap trading desk as part of a global effort to beef up its credit derivatives capability. The hiring is spearheaded by Spencer Jesner, director and head of U.S. credit-default swap trading, who recently joined from JPMorgan. "My brief is to build up the team," said Jesner. Although no timeframe has been set to make the hires, Jesner noted that the longer the firm waits the more expensive the project will be, because firms are nearing bonus season.
As part of the effort the firm recently hired Andrew Whittle, senior managing director of credit derivatives at Bear Stearns in London, as its European head of credit derivatives. Both Jesner and Whittle report to Vince Balducci, global head of risk finance in New York.
