Deutsche Bank hires top Credit Suisse ECM banker Gruffat

By Abhinav Ramnarayan

LONDON (Reuters) -Deutsche Bank has hired Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN)'s Stephane Gruffat as co-head of its equity capital markets unit in Europe, marking the departure of another senior banker from the Swiss lender which has been involved in a run of scandals.

Gruffat joins the German bank's equity capital markets for Europe, Middle East and Africa after over two decades at Credit Suisse, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

Gruffat was most recently head of the equity capital markets syndicate at Credit Suisse. His move represents something of a coup for Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn), which trails its Swiss rival in the global ECM stakes, and follows other recent departures from Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse confirmed Gruffat's departure, declining further comment.

Last week, Reuters reported that Didier Denat, who spent 21 years at Credit Suisse, was to join Citi to help lead its alternative assets franchise in EMEA.

Credit Suisse has been plunged into crisis after losing more than $5 billion from the collapse of U.S. investment firm Archegos and suspending funds linked to collapsed British supply chain finance company Greensill Capital. The scandals have forced the bank to trim bonuses at a time when most of its rivals are expected to raise payouts after a bumper quarter for trading.

The ECM sector has been one of Credit Suisse's bright spots though, with its strong tech franchise in the United States helping keep it competitive with its Wall Street rivals.

At Deutsche Bank, Gruffat will also be head of ECM syndicate for the EMEA region, and will report to Henrik Johnsson, the German lender's co-head of capital markets and European investment banking.

Deutsche Bank reported its highest profit in seven years for the first quarter, driven by its investment bank that benefited from the boom in listing special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).

Data from Refinitiv shows that Deutsche Bank lies 16th in the league table of capital raised on stock markets globally with $6.65 billion. Credit Suisse is in seventh place in that table with $15.38 billion of league table credit.

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Gruffat has helped manage several high-profile stock market fundraisings in Europe including the listing of Spanish fund distribution firm Allfunds in Amsterdam last month.