Even though Bank of America’s FX operation is supposedly a core business the bank took an axe to it this week, prompting a former employee to quip: “I guess it’s back to Charlotte to sell credit cards.”
For legal reasons in the UK, the bank cannot confirm the names of all those who have left. But we understand they include Kai Herbert, Mark Rossi, Greg Kaldor and Simon Manwaring; in New York, the bank has let go Yisan So, Keith Yanowitz and Pierro Siveroni; and Mark Youds has exited in Singapore. The bank had made it clear that 650 positions were to go in its global investment banking/global markets area. But the clearout has shocked FX watchers.
At the same time, BoA has closed its EMEA commodities desk. “Our core commodities clients are US-based corporate and commercial entities, so to create operational efficiencies and better serve them we are centralizing our commodities platform in the US. We are not in a position to confirm the details of the associates affected,” says the bank.