XL Capital Assurance, the New York-based financial guarantor, recently hired Gregory Berman as a collateralized debt obligation transactor for its structured products group. He reports to David Czerniecki, senior managing director, head of structured investment products, says Mitch Karig, a spokesman at XL. The position is newly created due to the booming underwriting business in CDOs for this bond insurer, he says.
Berman joins from Jefferies & Co, where he was a structurer in the structured finance group, in charge of CDOs execution and reporting to Ken Taratus, managing director and head of structured finance in Atlanta. Calls to Taratus seeking comments on Berman's eventual replacement were not returned.