Peter Siedem is heading to J.P. Morgan Chase's distressed desk from Lehman Brothers, according to market watchers. Siedem was the head distressed trader at Lazard Freres before switching to Lehman about a year ago. He could not be reached for comment. A Lehman spokesman declined to comment. Officials at Chase would not comment.
Siedem is reportedly the latest departure from Lehman, which lost most of its desk to UBS Warburg more than a year ago. Dealers at other banks say Lehman has been struggling to rebuild its desk in the face of competitive salaries elsewhere. Traders say Siedem is the latest move for Chase, which has built up its trading desk to more than 20 staff. Within the last month UBS snagged two more Lehman employees to co-head its bonds desk. Officials at UBS would not comment.