Claudio Phillips, head loan trader at Salomon Smith Barney, resigned this week. Phillips reported to Jonathan Calder, head of loan sales and trading at Salomon. A spokesman for Salomon confirmed his departure but would not comment on whether the company will look to hire a replacement.
This is just the latest personnel change at Salomon's trading desk. In late May,Goldman Sachs scooped up Salomon salesman Walter Levitch. He was replaced by Joe Wilson and Martin Pryor, who left J.P. Morgan's loan sales desk (LMW, 5/27).
Meanwhile, former Deutsche Bank par loan trader John Gorham joined Bank of America's distressed sales group on June 13. After more than a decade on the par side, sources said Gorham was attracted to the opportunities the distressed market offers in the current economic environment.
Gorham left Deutsche along with Kevin Burke at the end of January. Market players suggested that the pair was let go because the bank needed to make head count reductions.