Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. has hired two loan traders away from Citicorp for its new bank loan business, market sources said.
Donald Pollard, who was with Citicorp's London office, and Tom Hendrick, a New York-based trader, will join the nascent business.
Both traders will be based in New York, and will report to Stephen Hickey, the head of bank loans.
The two former Citicorp traders were in high demand because of their strong reputations. One market source suggested that at least one other investment bank had a strong interest in both.
Investment banks have increasingly been launching and bulking up bank loan operations as they pursue the leveraged lending business, long the engine of profits for commercial lending operations and a complementary product to the high-yield-bond business.
Indeed, with Donaldson, Morgan Stanley & Co., and Salomon Brothers Inc., all jumping into the fray this year, bankers said that talented bank loan executives are finding attractive opportunities at the new shops.
Harold Philipps, formerly head of loan syndications at Bank of Nova Scotia, and Eric Swanson, formerly a vice president at Bankers Trust New York Corp., recently joined Donaldson as co-heads of leveraged loan originations.
Morgan Stanley recently added Chase Manhattan veterans Michael Hart and Michael McLoughlin to its new bank loan group, headed by L. Bram Smith .
Salomon recently hired Richard Ivers, formerly a managing director at CS First Boston, to lead its new group.
