UBS Staffs Up Energy Lending Practice

UBS Investment Bank has formed an 18-person energy lending practice based in Dallas. It will be led by Darrell Holley, who previously was head of global oil and gas banking for Fortis Bank. 

PRESS RELEASE

UBS Investment Bank today announced that it will expand its Global Energy banking practice with the addition of 18 seasoned bankers focused on energy lending. As part of this expansion, UBS has named Darrell Holley as Managing Director and Global Head of Energy Lending.

“The energy sector has been very resilient during the current economic downturn, and we expect it will be one of the most active sectors in mergers and acquisitions, and equity and debt financings as the economy recovers,” said Stephen Trauber, Global Head of Energy banking at UBS. “Despite a downturn in the global economy, UBS’s Energy Banking business has remained extremely strong over the past two years and we are experiencing a constantly expanding business pipeline. The addition of a highly experienced team with deep knowledge of energy lending markets will bolster our ability to serve clients, grow our overall lending franchise and continue to increase our energy market share.”

The 18-person team, which includes Holley and eight Executive Directors, will be based at a new UBS Investment Banking Department (IBD) office in Dallas, Texas, and will complement UBS’s existing Energy Banking team in Houston and New York. The team joining UBS has significant experience in the energy lending arena and has transaction experience across a broad range of markets, products and borrowers.

Holley will report to Trauber. He was previously with Fortis Bank in Dallas, where he was Global Head of Oil and Gas banking. Prior to Fortis, he was a Vice President at Chemical Bank in the energy group. He holds a BS from Texas A&M University.

“We have added over a dozen Managing Directors to our IBD franchise over the last month and we will continue to expand our senior coverage of key sectors,” said Kevin Cox, Americas Head of IBD. “The addition of this energy team is exciting for us, as lending is an important offering to our clients, and in the current environment we see tremendous opportunities to arrange financing for transactions.”

The UBS Global Energy Banking Group is one of the industry’s largest dedicated Energy teams and serves the entire spectrum of energy clients from integrated and national oil companies, to upstream, oilfield services, midstream and refining/marketing companies. With locations in the Americas, Europe and Asia, UBS’s Global Energy practice has worked on numerous high-profile transactions in capital markets and M&A advisory over the past 12 months, including roles as financial advisor to Grey Wolf on the company’s $2 billion sale to Precision Drilling; financial advisor to W-H Energy on the company’s $3.2 billion sale to Smith International; lead bookrunner on Anadarko Petroleum’s $1.5 billion equity financing; joint bookorunner on Devon Energy’s $1.2 billion debt financing; and lead bookrunner on Weatherford International’s $1.25 billion debt financing.

Headquartered in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland, UBS is one of the world’s leading financial firms. It serves a discerning, international client base with its wealth management, investment banking and asset management businesses. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in over 50 countries, with about 38% of its employees working in the Americas, 34% in Switzerland, 15% in the rest of Europe and 13% in Asia Pacific. UBS employs more than 75,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).