Investment banking

A busy end to the year for Barclays’ dealmakers helped offset a slump in trading activity and lift the British bank to its highest annual profit on record.

Bank of America hired Benjamin Saunders from JPMorgan Chase for its financial institutions investment banking business.

David Ratliff will lead all corporate and institutional client coverage teams in the Asia Pacific region, including corporate banking, financial institutions, and the global institutional client group, according to an internal memo.

The Providence, Rhode Island, company has agreed to buy DH Capital, a capital markets advisory firm specializing in the tech and communication sectors. It already has bought a valuation consulting firm and has three acquisitions pending.

The acquisition of MoffettNathanson is the latest in a string of moves by Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company to extend the reach of its investment banking arm into the tech sector.

Tom Dierdorff, formerly a Regions executive, will lead the Georgia bank's push into the lucrative but competitive market.

Investment banking fees helped propel the Cleveland bank's noninterest income, which has been a focus for the last decade and continues to rise as a percentage of total revenue.

The bank, which acquired General Electric’s health care lending business in 2015, is looking to expand its presence amid a merger boom in the sector.

Stifel Financial agreed to buy the fixed-income brokerage Vining Sparks and its affiliates, adding about $150 billion in annual trading volume and further bulking up its banking-advisory capabilities.

The California bank historically lost technology industry clients as their needs became more complex. That could change now that it has hired 10 senior bankers and plans to recruit more.