Credit Suisse Co-head of Global Investment Banking Jens Welter will be moving to Citigroup Inc., where he will be the new co-head of the European investment banking division and chair of the bank’s consumer, retail, and healthcare advisory business, Financial Times reported.
The exit comes 11 months after Welter, a 27-year Credit Suisse veteran, began his most recent role. At the time, 50 senior bankers had departed, leaving Welter to stabilize the business. The bank had been working toward recreating its investment banking business as a standalone boutique, with Welter at the helm in Europe. He was based in London.
His exit, some fear, will inspire even more people to leave. “This is very, very bad,” one unnamed London headhunter told the Financial Times. “It will cause a lot of instability.”
David Wah, Welter’s former New York-based Co-head, will continue as the sole Head of the division. In Europe, Credit Suisse will promote Cathal Deasy and Giuseppe Monarchi, making them Co-heads of Investment Banking & Capital Markets. Deasy joined from Deutsche Bank in 2015, and Monarchi, a 30-year veteran, was previously Co-head of European coverage with Jens Haas.
At Citi, Welter’s Co-head will be Nacho Gutiérrez-Orrantia, who has been running the division on his own.
“We have been talking for a long time,” Co-head of Citi’s banking, capital markets, and advisory business told the Financial Times. “We really wanted to fit this properly. We don’t usually do a move like this.”
