Dresdner Kleinwort to hire 60 for Russian operations

Financial News

Jason Corcoran in Moscow

03 December 2007


German investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort is trying to re-establish its leading position in Russia’s capital market by hiring 60 bankers.

Igor Lojevsky, chairman of global banking and capital markets for the region, said Dresdner wants to hire between 15 and 20 bankers in Moscow and 30 to 35 in London and New York to service Russia.

A further 10 employees are being recruited for Dresdner’s new private banking operations in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Lojevsky, who joined Dresdner from Deutsche Bank four months ago, said: “Dresdner is reassessing its strategy for Russia by following where the money is. We hope to be the first port of call for the big Russian companies but we are going to focus on strategic structured solutions, the private sector and more second and third-tier companies.”

Dresdner Kleinwort has been planning to hire senior staff since the departure last year of Bob Foresman, head of the Moscow office, to Russian rival Renaissance Capital. Foresman subsequently hired six bankers from Dresdner.

In March, Matthias Warnig, former chairman of Dresdner’s Russian business, joined the board of Russian bank VTB ahead of its flotation. Warnig continues to advise Dresdner clients.

Lojevsky said: “We need a combination of senior and junior guys across the value chain. We need global distribution staff in London and New York, local sales staff and ECM and DCM origination bankers.”

However, Goldman faces stiff competition from local and international rivals in Moscow where there is a premium for talent. Headhunters said Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and VTB are also trying to recruit heavily.

Dresdner has fallen out of the top 22 in data provider Thomson Financial's equity capital markes tables in the year to date after topping the pool in 2007 thanks to its joint-bookrunner mandates on the Rosneft and TMK IPOs . In M&A, Dresdner is 18 th compared to its 9th position in 2006 while their DCM showing has fallen to 11th from 7th.


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