BoA Names Christian Meissner as Head of EMEA Banking

LONDON (Reuters) – One of Nomura’s (8604.T) top European bankers quit the Japanese brokerage on Tuesday to join rival Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N) as head of its European investment banking.

Bank of America named Christian Meissner as head of investment banking for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) just hours after Nomura said he had quit as deputy global head of investment banking.

Nomura named Tarun Jotwani to fill its vacant top position in Europe on Tuesday, a position that Meissner had been seen as a possible candidate for. But earlier on Tuesday he had already been linked with a job at Bank of America, and the U.S. bank confirmed his appointment late in the day.

Meissner could not immediately be reached for comment.

Based in London, he will report to Michael Rubinoff and Purna Saggurti, co-heads of global investment banking, and drive the growth of the business across the region, Bank of America said in a statement. He will join in July.

Meissner joined Nomura after the Japanese brokerage bought Lehman Brothers’ European and Asian operations in October 2008. He had been at Lehman for five years, most recently as co-chief executive officer for Europe and the Middle East, after 10 years at Goldman Sachs (GS.N), including as co-head of European equity capital markets.

Nomura named Jotwani as chief executive for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and also said William Vereker and Hiroyuki Suzuki would become joint-heads of global investment banking.

The Japanese firm announced last month that Sadeq Sayeed would step down as its top executive in Europe, after overseeing the purchase and integration of the Lehman businesses.

Jotwani, like Meissner, joined from Lehman.

Indian national Jotwani will also continue in his current role as head of global fixed income, Nomura said in a statement. He will report to Jesse Bhattal, another former Lehman executive, who was last month named head of a new wholesale division. [ID:nTOE62G09B]

Jotwani was at Lehman for 13 years, including as head of capital markets for Asia-Pacific and CEO of its Indian operations from 2007 and before that as its co-head of fixed income in Europe.

Nomura has lost some top staff as it has integrated Lehman, but now has over 4,400 staff in EMEA, three times the level before the deal.

By Steve Slater
(editing by Will Waterman)