BASEL, SWTIZTERLAND — UBS Group AG has announced the hiring of three former Barclays bankers as part of its ongoing expansion plan to broaden its US investment-banking services.
According to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News, Marco Valla has been appointed as co-head of the global-banking division globally, alongside Javier Oficialdegui.
Valla will be taking over from Ros L’Esperance, who will now establish a new corporate advisory group comprising the bank’s most experienced client-facing bankers in each region.
This move comes just a month after UBS made a groundbreaking agreement to acquire Credit Suisse Group AG following its near-collapse.
UBS has expressed its belief that there is great potential in combining Credit Suisse’s investment-banking offerings with its own global-banking division, particularly in the US and technology sector.
“The acquisition of Credit Suisse, together with our previously approved investment plans, provides us with an unparalleled opportunity to expand the size and scope of our global-banking footprint, particularly in the Americas,” said Rob Karofsky, president of UBS’s investment bank, said in a memo.
UBS has received confirmation from a spokesperson regarding the contents of the memo which states that Jeff Hinton and Kurt Anthony, formerly of Barclays Plc, will be joining the Swiss bank. Hinton most recently served as co-head of the Americas mergers-and-acquisitions business at Barclays, while Anthony was a managing director in the consumer-retail group.
UBS is looking to enhance its investment-banking services aimed at technology entrepreneurs, with the aim of securing their wealth-management business.
Marco Valla, who will be stationed in New York, previously supervised Barclays’ technology, media, telecommunications, and consumer-retail teams on a global scale.
“I am convinced that Marco, Javier and Ros will partner successfully to take our global-banking business to the next level,” Karofsky said in the memo.
“We’ve strengthened and aligned our global-banking offering closer to sectors where further wealth creation is expected, making Marco’s experience incredibly well-aligned with our global-banking strategic goals.”
