Investment banks scramble to fill top jobs in Italy

* Six banks seek senior bankers to head Italian divisions

* Bank of America, Societe Generale, Nomura hire headhunters

* Barclays and HSBC still digesting recent departures

* BNP Paribas wants new head of corporate division at BNL

By Pamela Barbaglia and Anjuli Davies

LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Headhunters are trying to lureItalian bankers in London back to jobs at home, hoping to useBritain's vote to leave the EU as leverage to fill a string ofvacancies at investment banks in Europe's fourth largesteconomy.

American, British, French and Japanese investment banks arelooking for a total of six dealmakers to head their businessesin Italy after a number of senior bankers jumped ship for topjobs at Italian corporates.

Bank of America's chief executive in Italy MarcoMorelli, Nomura's top Italian banker Francesco Mele andBarclays' Italy head Alessandra Pasini have all ditchedinvestment banking for executive corporate jobs.

Senior staff in Italy have also left Societe Generale and HSBC in recent months, sources toldReuters, while BNP Paribas is interviewing candidatesto head the corporate division of its Italian subsidiary BancaNazionale del Lavoro (BNL).

The banks declined to comment on their hiring plans.

Since the start of the financial crisis, life in companiesoutside the financial sector has become increasingly attractivefor senior bankers, whose jobs now involve dealing more withrestructuring plans, cutting costs and compliance work.

"At a certain stage in your career, if you're being offereda prestigious corporate role, it's hard to refuse," said AnnaMarietta, a partner at executive search firm DHR International.

Goldman Sachs rainmaker Simon Dingemans joined British drugfirm GlaxoSmithKline as chief financial officer (CFO) in2011, Goldman's Anthony Noto left the bank in 2014 to becomeTwitter's CFO while Morgan Stanley's Ruth Poratbecame CFO at Google's holding firm Alphabet in 2015.

MUSICAL CHAIRS

The vacancies in Italy come at a crucial time for investmentbanks in the country as they battle for lucrative work helpinglenders Monte dei Paschi di Siena and UniCredit raise billions of euros in capital.

"There is an unprecedented game of musical chairs in theItalian investment banking industry," said a senior Italianbanker who is in the running for some of the top jobs.

"We're seeing a high number of talented investment bankersmoving on to corporate life but big banks remain committed toItaly," he told Reuters.

Still, finding the right people for such senior roles inItaly can be tough, as many Italian bankers tend to basethemselves in London where there is a wider variety of work, aswell as better tax rates.

For example, just 1 percent of the top five U.S. banks'European workforces were based in Italy in 2014, according tothink-tank Bruegel, despite the country being the fourth biggestfee-earner in Europe for banks. For those major U.S. lenders, 88percent of their European staff were based in Britain.

But with investment banks expected to start moving staffacross Europe following the Brexit vote, recruitment consultantssay there may now be more incentives for Italians to relocate tothe country's financial capital in Milan.

"Brexit could be a facilitating factor," said DHRInternational's Marietta. "The UK is changing, psychologicallyit could play a role."

Italy is home to some of the biggest fee payers in Europe.Ailing lender Monte dei Paschi paid banks more than 400 millioneuros ($438 million) for two capital increases in as many yearsand is now working on an expensive rescue plan.

Bankers say this means Italy remains an attractive market toenter and U.S. investment bank Jefferies recentlystarted operations in Milan. It has just hired Mauro Premazzifrom Bank of America and is seeking to establish a footholdbefore expanding its Italian team, the sources said.

A spokeswoman at Jefferies declined to comment.

CHALLENGING TIMES

Headhunters will, nevertheless, have their work cut out asthe list of recent departures in Italy is long.

Societe Generale's group country head in Italy PatriziaMicucci stepped down in July while HSBC's head of global bankingfor Italy, Stefano Giudici, who was responsible for investmentand corporate banking in the country, left in September.

A Societe Generale spokesman confirmed Micucci was no longerwith the bank, adding that Roberto Pecora, head of SocieteGenerale's market activities in Italy, has been managing itscorporate and investment banking activities in the country on aninterim basis since July 28.

French rival BNP Paribas is looking to hire a newhead for BNL's corporate division as it wants to develop closerties with small- and mid-sized corporate clients served by BNL,the sources said.

Bank of America and Nomura, whose top bankers Morelli andMele became Monte dei Paschi's chief executive and chieffinancial officer, have instructed headhunters to findcandidates for their Italian businesses, the sources said.

Societe Generale is also working with headhunters and itsrecruitment process is more advanced than at Barclays, which isstill digesting the departure of Alessandra Pasini, who becameCFO at Italian utility Snam on Sept. 27.

Earlier this year, Barclays hired veteran Italian dealmakerCarlo Calabria as chairman of mergers and acquisitions forEurope, Middle East and Africa, bringing eight of his colleaguesfrom CMC Capital, the boutique advisory firm he set up.

Two of the sources said the British bank may select its newItaly head from Calabria's team but cautioned that no finaldecision had been made.

Bank of America's Diego De Giorgi, who was recently madesole head of global investment banking, will have the final wordon the selection of its new Italy chief, which is seen as themost prestigious job with possibly an additional role up forgrabs as head of investment banking Italy.

Still, running the Italian franchise of a largeinternational bank comes with the challenge of deliveringambitious growth targets in a largely flat market, even if thereis money to be made with lenders such as Monte dei Paschi.

Investment banking fees in Italy were down nearly 30 percentlast year to $1.28 billion, reflecting a more general slump inbanking fees worldwide.

So far this year, banks have earned $863.9 million fromItalian deals, mostly from mergers and acquisitions, as opposedto $3.7 billion in Britain, $2.1 billion in France and $1.4billion in Germany, according to Thomson Reuters data.

"Banking is just a harder industry right now to be in," saidLogan Naidu, chief executive at recruitment firm DartmouthPartners, pointing to regulatory pressures, lower compensationand competition from specialised boutique outfits.

($1 = 0.9137 euros) (Editing by David Clarke)