—Hugh Leask
WestLB has beefed up its global securitization group with the addition of a four-man team in London. Stafford Butt, former head of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is leading the team, which is intended to strengthen the firm’s origination business across western Europe.
David Moore, a quantitative specialist, Chris O’Hara, lawyer, and Paolo Cerboncini, who previously focused on southern Europe within WestLB’s global emerging markets team, comprise the rest of the new team. Further detail on the four could not be gleaned by press time as WestLB officials did not return repeated calls. But an announcement by the firm in New York confirmed the foursome will work alongside the German securitization group, headed by Matthias Renner in Dusseldorf, and David McCaig’s global emerging markets team. “By utilizing the bank's balance sheet, as well as the recovering conduit and term markets, we intend to capitalize on the funding gaps, which we believe will ensue from the credit crunch," Butt added in the announcement.
The new London effort reports to the Brian Statfeld, global head of securitization in New York.