Deutsche Bank has hired Mike Reisman from Morgan Stanley to run its U.S. government bond repurchase trading desk. It's a new position. Reisman, who will start after his non-compete expires on March 27, will report to short-term trading head Joe Randozzo. Reisman, reached at his residence, said, "I left for a hell of an opportunity and wish Morgan only the best." He declined to discuss the move further. A Deutsche Bank govvies official familiar with the move says Reisman's hire comes at a time when the repo market is suffering from "sticker shock," relating to the low yields across the curve. As a function of this, one of Reisman's jobs will be to expand the customer side of Deutsche Bank's business, as it makes a grab for increased market share. He will also coordinate the repo desk's actions with other desks, such as Treasury trading and swaps.
At Morgan Stanley, Reisman traded the "specials" book, as well as co-heading repo day-to-day with Nelson Young. Special repos are repurchase agreements that are open-ended with respect to termination date. Replacing Reisman will be Tom Canale, who joins from Patriot Securities, where he was a long-time repo broker.
Reisman gained prominence on the Street when he became the partner in charge of Long Term Capital Management's financing needs. More recently, he has gained attention outside of the financial community as a part-time stand-up comic and co-owner of the Gotham Comedy Club in New York.