More in store as Nomura poaches RBS staff

NOMURA'S raid on Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) staff might not be over, with the Japanese investment bank thought to be ready to add to a team of 10 headhunted yesterday.

Nomura’s emerging Australian operations signed on eight analysts and two support staff yesterday as part of its ambitious strategy to build a full-service investment bank this year.

The recruitment rush was headlined by the hiring of RBS’s top-ranked retail analyst David Cooke, lead manufacturing analyst Richard Johnson, healthcare analyst David Stanton and basic industrials analyst Simon Thackery.

Each of the analysts will bring associates across, and it was suggested the hiring spree would have cost Nomura more than $5 million. The senior analysts are now expected to be placed on gardening leave before starting with Nomura in the next three months.

And there were suggestions last night that the high-profile raid might not be over, with the possibility of a further three signings from the RBS ranks.

The hirings are a new blow for the Australian operations of RBS, which has struggled in the past few months from depleted staff and a lack of corporate deals.

The bank lost a team of 10 fixed-income, commodities and currency traders in January to Merrill Lynch, which has been the most active investment bank in hiring staff over the past few months.

RBS has been the main target for rival investment banks headhunting staff.

The analysts’ decision to leave RBS will leave a gap in the investment bank’s coverage of corporate Australia.

Before the move, the bank employed 45 analysts covering 24 sectors.

It is understood coverage of basic industries, material, health care and manufacturing will be moved to analysts remaining with the bank.

RBS was keen to downplay the effect of the staff exodus yesterday, and a spokeswoman emphasised that the bank had hired 23 people in the broader equities division over the past few months.

The bank also declared the departures would not affect its role in the Queensland Rail float, the most high-profile transaction it is currently involved in.

The employment terms offered by Nomura were not clear last night, but it is understood the emerging investment bank offered the RBS analysts a sign-on bonus and a bonus guarantee.

The payment of bonuses has been a contentious issue for RBS globally. The bank remains more than 80 per cent nationalised after a British government bailout.It is understood the staff that resigned will forgo their RBS bonus for the past year.

Merrill poaches Goldman’s Fletcher

BANK of America-Merrill Lynch's Australian head of equities, Matt Unsworth, has continued to build up the investment bank's equities team with the hiring of Goldman Sachs JBWere's Sam Fletcher.

The poaching of Fletcher, who will work in the newly created role of cash distribution within the team, follows the hiring of Bell Potter’s three-man real estate team last week.

Fletcher resigned from GSJBW yesterday and will start at Merrill in May.

Unsworth has been building up Merrill’s local equities team with about 40 hirings since April 2009, including the recent addition of fellow GSJBW banker Peter Phillips. The bank was now focused on boosting its client-handling, said Unsworth, after initially focusing on building up its research and sales areas.

Merrill last month stunned investment banking circles when it poached Royal Bank of Scotland co-head of markets Chris Thomas and nine other bankers in a morning raid on the bank.

It was the second raid on its rivals in six months – Merrill raided UBS’s property team, which reportedly cost nearly $27 million in guaranteed salaries for nine bankers.

bennetm@theaustralian.com.au

Nomura poaches Peter Meurer from Citi

NOMURA is building its Australian investment bank, after poaching Peter Meurer from Citi to head its domestic banking operations.

Recruiting: Nomura has hired Peter Meurer from Citi to be chariman of its Australian investment banking operations. Picture: Bloomberg

UBS poaches JPMorgan property team

UBS has moved quickly to replace its real estate investment team by picking up Tim Church and seven colleagues from JPMorgan.

Thehiring of the entire team at JPMorganhas added significance given that JPMorgan’s Australian boss, Andrew Pridham, was once a key property analyst at UBS.

Merrill Lynch recently nabbed the UBS property team led by Darren Rehn. The raid by Merrill cost them $27 million and took away 10 of 16 bankers at the UBS team.

Ian Richards and Nick Thompson have also joined UBS, taking the company back to having 13 property bankers.