Westdeutsche Landesbank plans to expand the coverage of its structured asset products group from Germany to other European markets. The department currently markets structured products, such as constant maturity swaps, credit derivatives and Bermudan options, just to German clients, according to Thorsten Goettel, head of the group in London. The bank plans to hire two more marketers to add to the existing six-member team before year-end.
The bank has already hired Onno Vleeshouwer, as an associate director covering France and the Benelux region who starts Tuesday, and Rui Seybert, as a director to cover the Spanish and Portuguese market. Vleeshouwer and Seybert were in similar roles at Credit Lyonnais and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein respectively. The bank has also made two internal transfers and hired Jan Wilmanns, a finance lecturer at the University of Dortmund. Goettel said West LB has expanded its plain vanilla derivatives franchise to cover these markets so it is a logical step to expand its exotic derivatives business.
