Credit Suisse First Boston's crossover desk will report jointly to the high-yield and high-grade trading desks, as the firm tries to address the increasing migration of high-grade credits into junk and vice versa, senior firm officials say. Previously, the desk had reported exclusively to Nasser Ahmad and Tim Joyce, the former heads of high-grade trading, who have since moved on to Credit Suisse Asset Management, along with veteran crossover trader Larry Wolfson. (BW, 2/23). As part of the arrangement, crossover traders Brendan Connolly and Allen O' Picci, both directors, will report to Joe Russell, head of high-yield and distressed sales and trading, and Steve Feinberg and Peter Nason, high-grade trading co-heads.
One high-yield official says CSFB's desk was a critical profit center over the past year or so as a host of investment-grade credits fell into high yield. In hiring Connolly from Deutsche Bank (BW, 7/20) and installing dual reporting lines, CSFB is preparing for a reverse move back into investment grade, as companies shore up their balance sheets and the economy improves. "This will become one of the most important seats in our credit trading businesses," the official says.