The head of BankBoston Corp.'s nascent loan syndications market research and analysis group, Robert Goddard, resigned late last Friday to join Banc One Corp. as head of syndications distribution.
Mr. Goddard, a 24-year BankBoston veteran who was a managing director, was recently put in charge of a new group performing syndications market research and analysis.
That group will now be headed by Robert Piepenberg, 36, who had already been tapped to lead its research efforts.
At Banc One, Columbus, Ohio, which is moving to expand its wholesale and corporate lending efforts, Mr. Goddard will also be a managing director, in charge of syndicated loan distribution.
BankBoston ranked 17th on agent-only league tables for the first quarter, with volume of $4.44 billion on 26 deals, according to Loan Pricing Corp. Banc One ranked 70th on agent/co-agent syndication league tables with nine deals totaling $2.25 billion, according to Loan Pricing.
Banc One's move to improve its corporate lending capabilities follows its 1996 consolidation to 12 banks, down from 67.
"Because of the decentralized structure, (Banc One) they fell behind on that curve," said Katrina Blecher, a bank analyst at Gruntal & Co. "That's being reflected in the move to beef up on the capital markets side."
BankBoston said it does not expect Mr. Goddard's departure to hurt the syndications operation, which now has about 40 staffers.
"We've built a business so that the departure of any one individual doesn't have any impact on our position in the marketplace or our relationships with any of our investors or issuers," said Mary Etta Schneider, managing director and group head of syndications at BankBoston.
BankBoston's research group is only the second of its kind in the industry. BancAmerica Securities established a similar unit in January 1996.
Banc One began its syndications operation in September 1996 when it hired John M. Buley Jr. from CoreStates to lead the new group. It was the last major bank to enter the syndication arena.
Mr. Goddard is now looking to hire two or three distribution staffers and two market analysts for Banc One.
"The most interesting part of my previous position was helping to build the distribution network," said Mr. Goddard, who hopes to replicate his success at Banc One.
