Tullett completes restructuring of European operations

UK interdealer broker Tullett & Tokyo Liberty has completed the restructuring of its European operations - following the merger of Tullett & Tokyo and Liberty back in December 1999 - by naming five managing directors to drive the broker towards its goal of overtaking rival Icap as the leading interdealer broker.

Rod Taylor, Tullett & Tokyo Liberty managing director for London and Europe, told RiskNews that the five unit heads, including two for interest rate swaps, would take a ‘horizontal’ management role for the whole European company. Other senior managers at the broker typically look vertically at their specific trading product line.

“Obviously interest rate swaps is a major play for us,” said Taylor. “Icap is a leader in this area, but I would hope these appointments would help us close that margin. And we believe we are closing it,” he claimed.

Angus Wink was named managing director for interest rate swaps, while Stephen Duckworth was promoted to managing director for fixed income, interest rate swaps and bond/swap volatility. Wink has spent nine years trading swaps for Tullett, while Duckworth has traded European government, fixed income and bond options for the company for the past five years.

Taylor said Tullett & Tokyo Liberty, which has a strong reputation in the short-end of the swaps business, was also making a land grab in the medium-term business. “We want to grow medium-term revenues and increase our corporate relations,” said Taylor. He added that Tullett & Tokyo Liberty had hired five to six traders for its medium-term swaps business in the past several months.

Taylor also named Marcus Bolton as managing director for Treasury products, Michael NorthEast-Roffey as managing director for fixed income, and Leslie O’Malley as managing director for equities and equity derivatives.