UBS AG of Zurich said it has hired more than 20 senior bankers from competitors including Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to strengthen its fixed-income unit.
The hires include Dimitri Psyllidis, formerly of Merrill, which is now part of Bank of America Corp. He joined UBS to head foreign exchange and rates trading globally, according to a memo sent to staff members Monday. Bobby Gerjarusak joined in Hong Kong from Goldman Sachs to run fixed-income, currency and commodities structuring in the Asia-Pacific region.
Psyllidis will report to Carsten Kengeter and Jeffrey Mayer.
UBS aims to become a leader in fixed income, currencies and commodities "as measured by profitability, client ranking and market share," said the memo from Kengeter and Mayer, who head that business.
A UBS spokesman in London confirmed the contents of the memo and said the hiring occurred over the past few months.
Recent hires in the U.K. included Andrew Crowston and Pablo Terpolilli, both formerly of Goldman Sachs, and Steve Murphy from Deutsche Bank AG, according to the memo.
In May the Swiss banking company hired Rajeev Misra, formerly of Deutsche Bank, as global head of credit trading. His role will also broaden to co-head of emerging markets with Ritesh Dutta, the memo said.
