Three asset-backed heavyweights are leaving UBS for Bank of America in London. Steve Skerrett, head of asset-backed securitization and origination, Drew Allan, head of asset-backed syndicate and trading, and Greg Kosinski, executive director in ABS banking, all quit last week. The three will report to Mike McLaughlin, head of global structured products for EMEA and Asia. McLaughlin moved to London from Charlotte, N.C. last summer to build BofA's European asset securitization and investment-grade business (BW, 6/21). The move is part of a broader commitment by the bank, announced last year, to invest more than $600 million in building up various parts of its fixed income business. McLaughlin said last week it is too early to discuss the hires.
The trio will start at BofA in July. Skerrett joins as managing director and head of ABS origination for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; Allan as managing director and head of the region's ABS syndicate and trading and Kosinski as principal in regional ABS origination and principal finance.
Steve Gandy, who has held various positions within BofA's securitization group in London including head of global ABS and more recently European head of ABS origination, will now report to Skerrett. Gandy's new title could not be determined and he declined comment. The new hires either declined comment or did not return calls.
The departures from UBS extend a drain of top-level structured finance talent since the firm combined its fixed-income, credit, and loan businesses under one banner earlier this year (BW, 1/24). Sal Naro, co-head of credit fixed income, as well as Jeff Herlyn and Michael Rosenberg, co-heads of the global collateralized debt obligation group, all recently resigned to join the buy side (BW, 3/7 & BW, 3/14). A securitization professional at a rival bank commented his counterparts at UBS have had a tougher time getting buy-in from top management since the re-org took place, and speculated this must be frustrating.
Calls to David Martin, UBS' global head of securitization in New York, Chris Ryan, head of fixed income, and Ramesh Singh, head of structured products, were referred to Gemma Piggott, spokeswoman in London. She declined comment.
