RBS's NatWest Markets Government Bond Traders Are Said to Leave

(Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s head of European government bond trading and three of his senior colleagues left as the state-controlled lender restructures its securities arm, according to people with knowledge of the departures.

James Konrad, who ran the European desk and Robbie Anderson along with other bond traders Ian Walker and Biagio Lapolla, left the NatWest Markets division over the past few weeks to pursue other opportunities, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. A spokesman at RBS declined to comment.

The departures at the fixed income desk come as RBS undergoes a “major restructuring” at NatWest Markets, which will have significant cost reductions by the end of next year, Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan said in April.

NatWest Markets has been drastically cut in the the last decade as RBS went through one of the costliest bailouts in U.K.’s financial services industry. The securities unit booked a loss for 2017.

Konrad didn’t reply to a message on LinkedIn, while Walker, Lapolla and Anderson declined to comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Stefania Spezzati in London at sspezzati@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ambereen Choudhury at achoudhury@bloomberg.net, Jon Menon

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