BankBoston Hires Banque Paribas Veteran to Lead Syndicated Loan Unit

BankBoston Corp. has appointed Carolyn Thomas, previously of Banque Paribas, to head syndicated loan distribution and trading.

A well-known figure in the syndications market, Ms. Thomas is considered by observers to be a major contributor to the success Banque Paribas has enjoyed in the U.S. syndications market since its entry in 1989.

"Carolyn has a very strong background in both senior debt and mezzanine finance," said John F. Yang, managing director and head of the loan syndicate group at Merrill Lynch & Co. "Her background at Banque Paribas is very complementary, in terms of the middle market, with BankBoston's."

Ms. Thomas will move to Boston from New York to head the loan sales and trading desks at BankBoston as a managing director, reporting to Mary Etta Schneider, managing director and group head of syndications. Ms. Thomas' appointment brings the number of professionals in the group to 45, said Ms. Schneider.

At Banque Paribas since 1989, Ms. Thomas was most recently a senior vice president and head of loan distribution.

Before joining Banque Paribas, Ms. Thomas worked for two years in the syndications group at Manufacturers Hanover.

BankBoston and Banque Paribas compete in the same middle-market segment of the U.S. syndicated lending market, so "her understanding of the leveraged loan market is a perfect match for BankBoston," said Ms. Schneider. "She knows a lot about the market that we play in."

Banque Paribas ranks 34th on agent/co-agent leveraged league tables, while BankBoston ranks 21st, according to Securities Data Co.

At BankBoston, Ms. Thomas succeeds Robert Goddard, a 24-year BankBoston veteran who moved to Columbus, Ohio-based Banc One Corp. last May to head loan distribution there.

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