Five Credit Suisse investment bankers in New York are defecting for a «wunderkind» rival in the shadow banking sector. The move follows the Swiss bank's pullback from riskier activities which soak up costly capital.
The Zurich-based bank has lost several investment bankers as a result of a restructuring unveiled by CEO Tidjane Thiam last year aiming to slash risk-taking and pare back its securities division.
But the move, reported by «Forbes», is different: five Credit Suisse bankers are jumping to a non-bank real estate platform being built by World Class Capital Group, a real estate investment firm based in Texas.
Shadow banking players including investment firms like World Class as well as hedge funds have surfaced in the U.S. as commercial lenders after regulators began more closely scrutinizing traditional players. In turn, banks have increasingly retreated from commercial real estate business.
Shadow Banking
The five Credit Suisse bankers World Class is hiring are Paul Smyth, formerly the global chief credit officer for the Swiss bank's commercial real estate originations group; Chris Callahan, head of trading for commercial mortgage bonds and collateralized loan obligations; senior structured products executive Cary Williams; Jeremy Stoler, head of Credit Suisse’s commercial real estate originations group; and Ed Mikus, a commercial real estate banker.
World Class is run by 29-year-old Nate Paul, who is referred to as a real estate wunderkind by his hometown newspaper. The firm aims to build a real estate platform to originate first mortgages, mezzanine loans, and preferred equity.
