Lehman Brothers has reassigned Tom Bernard from his role as head of investment-grade and high-yield sales and trading, in a bid to beef up its high-yield origination business, according to Bill Ahearn, a firm spokesman. Bernard will assume additional high-yield duties, working as co-head of high-yield capital markets alongside Rob Redmond, who had been the sole head. He will no longer work with the investment-grade team.
Ahearn says Lehman is increasing its focus on high-yield origination to build on the firm's recent success in that area. Lehman ranked seventh in U.S. high-yield underwriting tables in 1999, ninth in 2000, and eighth in 2001, according to Bloomberg. So far in 2002, Lehman ranks fourth. It could not be determined whether the firm has taken any other recent steps to increase its high-yield presence.
Bernard was promoted from head of high-yield to head of sales and trading for all credit in 2000 during a massive management reshuffle in the firm's bond business (BW, 5/9/00). He has not been replaced on the investment-grade side. Instead, investment-grade chiefs who had reported to him will now report directly to Ted Janulis and Bart McDade, the co-heads of fixed-income.