E*Trade names Layton CEO

Electronic brokerage E*Trade has appointed Donald Layton as its chief executive officer.

Layton was elected chairman of E*Trade's board in November 2007 at the same time Jarrett Lilien was named acting CEO. Lilien steps down from this position to resume his previous role as president and chief operating officer.

E*Trade’s management shake-up follows the firm’s announcement in January that it had made a net loss of $1.4 billion in 2007, and suffered asset losses and impairments of $2.45 billion – which included the sale of its entire asset-backed securities portfolio to Citadel Investment Group for $800 million.

"I believe E*Trade’s current financial issues can be effectively managed despite the tough environment," said Layton.

Layton had retired in 2004 after spending 29 years working at JP Morgan Chase and its predecessors, including serving most recently as vice-chairman. He worked as an advisor to E*Trade before taking the position as its chairman last November.

See also:
E*Trade’s CEO departs as Citadel injects $2.5bn into the firm