Millennium, Barclays Hire Ex-Bank of America Staff in Paris

(Bloomberg) -- Hedge fund Millennium Management LLC and Barclays Plc have hired a number of bankers who left Bank of America Corp.’s Paris offices earlier this year, following a wave of departures at the U.S. lender.

Romain Paternot, who was a director in equities synthetics and securities lending for the U.S. bank in Paris, joined Millennium’s Dubai office earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the move. Barclays has hired Niels Aage Juhl Christensen in Paris as Head of Equity Distribution Nordics, a person familiar with the move said. He previously led Bank of America’s equity team covering the Nordics. 

Earlier this month, former BofA director and hybrids trader Nizar Haj-Taieb joined Credit Agricole SA’s corporate and investment banking unit, a person familiar with the hire said. He’ll work as a cross asset derivatives trader, according to his Linkedin profile.

The Paris banking job market is in a state of flux as foreign lenders and hedge funds look to the French capital as a post-Brexit hub in continental Europe. Bank of America was the first major foreign bank to make such a move in 2019, transferring staff from the U.S., the U.K. and elsewhere into its Paris office. Its local headcount, at around 450, remained stable since then, as new hires were offset by a string of departures earlier this year. 

Read More: Two More Bankers Leave BofA’s Paris Office as Overhaul Continues

In July, Gregoire Thomas, former head of EMEA equities synthetics and securities lending for BofA, joined Millennium’s Paris office. 

Spokespeople for Millennium, Barclays, Credit Agricole CIB and Bank of America declined to comment. Paternot and Christensen declined to comment on their move, while Haj-Taieb did not return a request for comment.

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