Rick Kammler made a big trade on Wednesday, going to UBS Warburg from his par trading position at Bear Stearns. According to traders, Kammler took a similar role. "It will be a good platform for him; he has free reign to do a lot of sales," one dealer remarked. Among those who know Kammler he has a strong reputation and should bring good name recognition to UBS, which has been building up its trading desk over the year. "UBS has been fairly aggressive at recruiting," said a dealer. Spokespeople at both UBS and Bear Stearns did not return calls seeking comment.
Dealers said the move was logical for Kammler partly because it's closer to his residence in Connecticut, but they declined to speculate on how his departure could affect Bear Stearns. Kammler could not be reached by press time. Kammler started as a leveraged lender at Natexis Banque before being recruited to a sales position at Bear Stearns about three years ago. When Mark Sorenson left the trading desk at Bear Stearns for TD Securities, Kammler filled the spot. It could not be determined whether Bear Stearns has made any hires to fill Kammler's position or if the bank promoted from within.