Credit Suisse has split its fixed-income derivatives and cash businesses, bucking a Wall Street trend. According to an internal memo obtained by Derivatives Week, a CIN sister publication, the newly minted fixed-income derivatives group will be headed by Sudip Thakor, who also retains his role as co-head of global credit trading. Tony Pesco, head of fund-linked products, will be deputy head of the group and will work with a replacement to hand over his fund-linked responsibilities.
Most firms on the Street have combined cash and derivatives trading operations to make them more efficient--rather than having a trader covering telecom credit derivatives and one covering telecom bonds, for example. The same is also common for sales: credit salesmen are expected to be able to market both bonds and credit default swaps.
The goal behind the reshuffle is to rebuild the Swiss firm's derivatives weight. Jim Healy, head of fixed income and author of the memo, wrote, "I am convinced that we are held back by our current fragmented approach to derivatives, both in the front office and in the support areas." The firm will now have derivatives specialists for each fixed-income group, who will report to Thakor and Pesco, as well as their respective business managers. Healy, Thakor and Pesco did not respond to messages.
