Trading Places: JPMorgan poaches Aviva’s Singh, FCA hires ex-Goldman MD, BofA nabs Ansorg

JPMorgan poached Chetan Singh, a senior executive from insurer Aviva, to co-head its financial institutions group in Emea.

He was previously managing director of the annuities and equity release unit at Aviva, and before that was its chief strategy and M&A officer.

Singh, who is set to join the US bank in June, will co-lead JPMorgan’s Emea FIG team alongside Andreas Lindh. Both will report into Laurent Nevi, co-head of the unit globally.

The Financial Conduct Authority said former Goldman Sachs managing director Mel Gunewardena will join as a senior adviser. The move was announced the day before staff went on an unprecedented strike.

Simon Walls – who has been head of wholesale markets since 2016 – will become interim wholesale director. Graeme Reynolds – one of the FCA’s deputy chief economists – will take on the role of director of competition.

Eversheds Sutherland has hired heavyweight M&A lawyer Roger Barron as a senior advisor to its corporate practice. Barron spent 27 years at Linklaters before joining US law firm Paul Hastings in 2018 where he was global vice chair of M&A.

Bank of America has hired senior dealmaker Fabian Ansorg for its leveraged finance unit in London, the latest senior changes to the division. Ansorg is set to join the bank as a managing director within its leveraged finance capital markets desk in July.

UBS hired a pair of dealmakers for its team of bankers working on ESG-related transactions. Josiane Fanguinovény and Viv Sedov will join the bank’s ESG advisory team in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. UBS launched the unit in September last year.

Hargreaves Lansdown has made a string of hires ahead of 19 fund launches planned over the next two years.

The investment firm announced that Robert Farago, previously at Abrdn, joins as head of strategic asset allocation. Stephen Barnett, who worked at Fidelity International, takes on the head of quantitative research role. John Page, also formerly at Abrdn, will become head of investment risk. Ziad Abou Gergi and Thomas Wells join as senior fund manager and fund manager, respectively.

Audit and advisory firm Mazars has hired EY’s Poppy Proborespati as a banking partner in its London office. She was formerly an associate partner at the Big Four firm, and will focus on strengthening Mazars’ client asset practice within financial services.

City investment bank Numis is set to hire more investment bankers as it expands away from its traditional role on equity fundraising, which has slumped this year.

Alex Ham, co-chief executive of Numis, told FN that it would continue to invest in M&A bankers as well as build out its growth capital solutions unit.

Raymond James boss Paul Reilly is betting big on the UK, telling FN: “I do not have a cap on the number of hires”. In a race for talent, the US firm is hoping that flexible working and work-life balance will drive hiring for a European push.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it plans to add 20 investigators and litigators to its Crypto Assets and Cyber ​​Unit, a division created in 2017 to investigate cryptocurrency frauds and other misconduct.

Magic Circle law firms have promoted record numbers of female partners this year. Women made up 38% of the newly promoted partners, accounting for 58 out of a total of 152 promotions.

UBS ‘ rationale for the 2018 firing of a senior investment banker was defamatory and should be expunged from his record with regulators, according to an arbitration ruling.

PwC staff are set for lunchtime finishes on Fridays this summer, after a trial of the policy last year proved popular with staff.

And bonuses for capital markets bankers are set to tumble 40% this year, while salary hikes over the past 12 months will eat into variable pay, says Wall Street compensation consultant Johnson Associates.

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