Citigroup/Schroder Salomon Smith Barney is seeking to rebuild and expand its European securitization research team. Richard Pagan, co-head of European credit research in London, says the firm is still discussing the size of the team, which had consisted of one analyst until Shaker Sundaram, then its only European securitization analyst, left to become a salesman at UBS Warburg (BW, 8/25). Since Sundaram's departure, Pagan says the firm has determined "a team of one is too small." Now, Citi/SSSB is looking for a securitization research head to replace Sundaram as well as a few other analysts.
European securitization research currently is being covered out of New York. "We are looking within the asset-backed community as well as at ratings agencies and origination people," says Pagan, noting that the number of experienced European securitization analysts is small and many of the top-tier analysts are difficult to lure away from their current positions.