Citigroup has hired a 20-year JPMorgan veteran to bolster its UK deals team, as it continues to recruit senior dealmakers in the country.
Barry Weir, a natural resources specialist who joined JPMorgan in 1999, has signed up to join Citigroup’s UK investment banking team as a managing director, according to a memo seen by Financial News. He will start later in September.
Weir has headed various sector teams at JPMorgan including industrials, energy, metals and mining, and real estate, the memo said. He was also previously head of UK M&A at the bank.
“Barry’s appointment is another step forward as we progress our ambitions to expand our UK&I banking, capital markets and advisory coverage franchise and footprint,” the memo from James Fleming, head of UK and Ireland banking, capital markets and advisory, said.
Citigroup has been bolstering the senior ranks of its UK investment banking unit as part of its broader plans to reach the top spot in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
READ Citigroup eyes UK and Ireland growth amid ‘feeding frenzy’ deal boom
In March, it hired Richard Abel as a managing director within its UK corporate broking franchise, following on from senior appointments James Ibbotson and Simon Lindsay last year.
Fleming, who took the reins of Citi’s UK and Ireland investment banking business in July last year alongside Jan Skarbek, told FN last August that the bank was aiming for a top three spot in the investment banking league tables on a “consistent basis” and was looking to hire top dealmakers.
Fleming was installed as the sole head of the unit in August following Skarbek’s departure amid a probe into alleged inappropriate comments to a female colleague during a work trip.
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Source: fnlondon.com
