BofA Equity Chief Shakes Up Unit, Naming Koh to Run Trading

The reorganization is the largest under Gallo since he was hired by Chief Operating Officer Thomas Montag from Brevan Howard Asset Management in 2011.

(Bloomberg) — Bank of America Corp. equities chief Fabrizio Gallo is shaking up leadership across his division, promoting Glenn Koh to run its trading operations globally, as at least a half-dozen other deputies take on new roles or leave.

Cyrille Walter will run trading in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in addition to his role as global head of equity client solutions and structuring, Gallo wrote Thursday in a memo to staff. Martina Slowey will assume global control of prime brokerage, custody and futures. Senior equities executives Steve Bayardelle and Syl Chackman are leaving, according to the memo.

The reorganization is the largest under Gallo since he was hired byChief Operating Officer Thomas Montag from Brevan Howard Asset Management in 2011. Revenue from sales and trading in the banks equity unit fell 11 percent to $1.02 billion in the first quarter from a year earlier, as market turmoil fueled an industrywide rout in those operations. Thats the lowest for the first quarter — typically the banks strongest — since at least 2011, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data. While revenue had climbed 4 percent last year, it was the smallest increase among the largest U.S. banks.

Expanding Duties

Gallo previously spent 15 years at Morgan Stanley, where he was head of equities and global proprietary trading. Melissa Kitlowski, a spokeswoman for Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America, confirmed the contents of the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

Julien Bahurel will increase his geographic responsibility as head of equities for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, reporting to Gallo and Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, the regions president. Michel Sindelar will lead EMEA distribution, reporting to Bahurel and Soofian Zuberi, head of global equities distribution. Jonathan Barton will join the bank fromMeru Capital Group in early May to manage global swaps products and stock loans, reporting to Gallo.

Separately, Paul Simpson has been named to lead global banking and markets operations reporting to Cathy Bessant, who runs the firms operations and technology, according to the memo.

Bayardelle, who ran execution services, is leaving to pursue other opportunities, Gallo wrote in the memo. Chackman, who previously oversaw operations to be run by Barton, decided to retire, Gallo said.