Credit Suisse has signed up Kaan Basaran, managing director in structured products sales to the Middle East at Merrill Lynch in London, to head its investment banking division in Istanbul. He joins as managing director reporting to Ram Nayak in London, who was on vacation and unavailable for comment. Reached on his cell, Basaran declined to detail his new position and Rebecca O'Neill, spokeswoman, declined comment.
Separately, Merrill has lost a director from the same desk with Maan Kantar, structured products and credit sales into the Middle East and Eastern Europe, quitting the firm. He is reportedly jumping to the buyside, but Kantar did not return messages left on his cell. Both staffers reported to Dimitri Psyllidis, head of the debt client group in Europe, Middle East and Africa, who referred calls to the press office where Alex Walker, spokeswoman, did not provide comment.
Merrill last week announced seven new hires under Psyllidis, including managing director Mehmet Golhan, who joins from HSBC and will market derivative solutions into the Middle East. It could not be immediately determined if he is a direct replacement for Basaran.
