Barclays Plc’s Paul Leech and Todd Sandoz, who have led the firm’s equities trading business since 2020, are leaving the British bank.
(Bloomberg) — Barclays Plc’s Paul Leech and Todd Sandoz, who have led the firm’s equities trading business since 2020, are leaving the British bank.
Stephen Dainton will run the equities unit on an interim basis in addition to his responsibilities as co-head of the firm’s broader global markets business, according to a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg News. Dainton, who previously ran the equities business, is not planning to change the unit’s strategy or client proposition as part of the changes, the memo said.
“We have made good progress growing market share in equities and under Stephen’s interim leadership, we are confident we will continue to deliver for clients and execute on our growth strategy,” Barclays said in an emailed statement. “We thank Paul and Todd for their contributions to the franchise and wish them well in their future endeavors.”
Barclays has been through several changes at the top since C.S. Venkatakrishnan was appointed chief executive office in November 2021, triggering a rehuffle of senior positions. The bank replaced its investment banking co-heads last month and named a new chief operating officer in December. Venkatakrishnan himself is continuing to work while he undergoes cancer treatment.
“We have a multi-year vision of what to achieve by 2025 across intermediation, financing, platform simplification, client franchise, and culture,” Dainton and his co-head of global markets Adeel Khan said in the memo. “And where we are in our journey we believe we now need a different leadership model for equities, with a new single head responsible for the business.”
Trading Growth
The departures come as Barclays seeks to move up the rankings for equities trading, with the firm setting its sights on its overall markets business making it into the top 5 globally.
The equities trading unit’s revenue for last year is expected to rise 9% to £3.24 billion when the firm reports earnings later this month, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would make it one of Wall Street’s best performers in a year when wild swings in stocks dampened client activity.
As part of the push to improve market share across the trading business, Barclays has been investing in its prime brokerage capabilities, which offer hedge funds and other asset managers financing for products including equities, fixed-income and foreign exchange. Barclays last year hired 18 people from Credit Suisse Group AG as part of this expansion.
After Monday’s changes, Mike Webb, Makram Fares and Betty Gee — leaders in the firm’s equities franchise — will continue to report into Dainton along with Pete Ramsey and Joe Castle. Other top equities executives including Ayo Akinluyi, Ashish Prabhudesai, Brian Bost and Neil Staff will report into Khan.
“The equities business is vital for our success,” Dainton and Khan said in the memo. “Where we are in our journey we believe we now need a different leadership model for equities.”
Nearly three years ago, Leech and Sandoz were appointed as interim heads of the equities trading operations following the sudden departure of Fater Belbachir, who left for Citigroup Inc. less than a year after joining.
(Updates with detail throughout.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.