Credit: Italy's Nardelli becomes a banker

Bank of America has made a daring raid on Italy’s debt financing team in hiring Domenico (Mimmo) Nardelli to be a managing director in its frequent borrower business. Nardelli was head of international funding and liability management in the department of public debt management. Although the department is managed by Maria Cannata, Nardelli was a key member of the funding department.

BoA has made several high-profile hires in the frequent borrower sector in recent months, especially Scott Lampard from JPMorgan but also the likes of Casper Bentinck from Lehman Brothers.

Nardelli’s appointment provides further evidence of BoA’s investment in the business. They are clearly in the market for bankers, but it is unlikely that there will be many more high-profile moves before the new year when bonuses are paid.

If onlookers are expecting an instant impact at BoA from Nardelli’s appointment they will be disappointed. BoA is not a primary dealer in Italy and this is a prerequisite to winning bond mandates. No doubt rectifying that deficiency will be high on Nardelli’s list of things to do when he arrives in January.

Nardelli was at the heart of the Republic’s activities and one of the questions being asked is who will run the swap book now that he is departing. His employers made every effort to retain him but could not offer him what he really wanted – the top job.