Netherlands-based bank ABN Amro is set to restructure its fixed income business to bring credit, interest rate and distribution activities under one roof, a spokesman for the bank told Reuters on Monday. The new business, which will launch on January 1, will be run by the former head of credit, Niall Cameron. The structure will combine corporate bonds, government debt, loans, asset-backed and derivative functions to create a universal fixed income business for wholesale clients.
"The new business simplifies and aligns distribution across products and allows us to merge cash and derivatives trading in a single platform," said Cameron.
ABN Amro, which has total assets of about 632 billion euros ($784 billion), has been streamlining its banking divisions for over three years. It aims to focus its wholesale or corporate banking on to more profitable sectors and avoid duplication of products and services.
In other changes, Mike Nawas, former head of credit asset securitisation, will become global head of fixed income origination, while Graham Bird, former head of rates markets, will become global head of fixed income trading. The new team will report to Piero Overmars, head of Global Markets.