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By Pamela Barbaglia
LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse has hired
HSBC banker Orazio Tarda to bolster its financial
services coverage and beef up its senior ranks after a swathe of
departures, investigations and divisional reshuffles.
Italian-born Tarda will become the Swiss lender's global
co-head of fintech, according to a memo seen by Reuters, after
leading HSBC's fintech franchise since 2018 in a career spanning
16 years at the bank.
Tarda will also join Credit Suisse's client advisory group
in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as part of the bank's
efforts to increase M&A revenue and market share.
A seasoned dealmaker who started his career at Lehman
Brothers in 2001, Tarda has advised on a series of high profile
payments transactions including Nexi's transformational mergers
with Nets and SIA last year.
"Technology is an increasingly important part of the
strategic dialogue with clients across all of our capital
markets and advisory industry groups," the memo said, adding the
division "has been one of the bank's most successful franchises
over the past 20 years".
Tarda's appointment, which will be effective in November,
comes after a recent 41% fall investment banking which showed
the broader impact of the Archegos and Greensill scandals.
Credit Suisse - which this year lost most of its financial
institutions group (FIG) team to competitors - has slipped to
seventh place in global M&A league tables, according to
Refinitiv data in July, from sixth place in 2020, losing ground
to European rival Barclays.
The bank's former global FIG head, Alejandro Przygoda,
recently moved to Jefferies along with EMEA FIG head Armando
Rubio-Alvarez and several others in London and New York while
EMEA FIG chairman Max Mesny left to become a partner at Perella
Weinberg Partners.
Tarda will share the fintech job with Brian Gudofsky in New
York - who also acts as global head of technology - and the pair
will work closely with Martin Blanquart, who heads TMT in EMEA,
and Mathieu Salas, vice chairman for FIG.
Based in Milan, Tarda will report to both Gudofsky and
Giuseppe Monarchi in London while also keeping a local reporting
line to Credit Suisse Italy CEO Federico Imbert.
(Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
