Credit Suisse hires Barclays banker to take on Iberia investment banking – memo

　　div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpBy Andres Gonzalez and Pamela Barbagliap

　　pLONDON Reuters – Switzerlands secondlargest bank Credit Suisse has hired a senior Barclays dealmaker to lead its investment banking business in Iberia in a bid to strengthen its presence in the region where deal volumes surged last year.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

　　pNacho Moreno, who was in charge of Barclays‘ investment banking franchise in Iberia, will become Credit Suisse’s new head of investment banking and capital markets for Spain and Portugal, replacing Wenceslao Bounge, according to a memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by a spokesperson. p

　　pMoreno will take on the new role in late summer and will report to Jens Haas and Giuseppe Monarchi who cohead the banks coverage across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.p

　　pBounge will instead continue as Chief Executive for Spain and Portugal while also running the banks real estate group as global chairman.p

　　pCredit Suisse employs close to 500 people in Spain after relocating staff from London as part of its Brexit strategy which had Madrid as a “central location”, the memo said.p

　　pThe Swiss lender is in the middle of a major reorganisation launched last year to draw a line under a slew of scandals that hit its finances and prompted management ousters.p

　　pOn Thursday, one of its biggest investors, Artisan Partners, said the bank should start looking for a new CEO to replace Thomas Gottstein. Meanwhile, rating agency S&P has downgraded the groups credit rating to BBB citing the deteriorating economic and business environment.p

　　pSpain was one of Europes most active M&A regions in the first quarter of 2022, ranking fourth behind Britain and France but ahead of Germany, with deals worth 16.5 billion, according to Refinitiv data.p

　　pLast year, Credit Suisse ranked as the eighth most active advisor in Spain, working on deals worth 12.4 billion, Refinitiv league tables show, and recovering from its 35th position in 2020.p

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　　pp Reporting by Andres Gonzalez and Pamela Barbaglia, editing by Kirsten Donovanp

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