Bank One set to launch options desk in London

Bank One has hired two senior dealers to set up a new foreign exchange options desk in London, a senior official at the Chicago-based bank told RiskNews' sister publication, FX Week .

David Pennell, who is due to start at the end of May, comes to Bank One from Royal Bank of Canada in London. Stuart Piller joins in June from ANZ Investment Bank in Melbourne, where he was global head of forex options. Both report to Justin Foley, global head of forex options in Chicago.

The launch of the new desk in London completes a build-up in options that the bank started earlier this year, said Foley, and takes the global headcount of the team to eight.

Bank One set a target of hiring six additional forex options staff globally earlier this year in a bid to capture more top-tier corporate clients. In addition to the two positions added in London, the remaining four joined the bank in Chicago over the past two months. Frank Milnarik, head of the Asian shift, and Asian shift dealer Ed Slosar, both joined the bank in April. Options dealers Dan Munro and George Kapotis joined Bank One in March.

Bank One had originally planned to hire two options dealers in Tokyo, but instead decided to run an Asian shift from its main dealing room in Chicago, said Foley.

Foley himself is a new addition to Bank One, having joined the bank in December from Bank of America. The eighth member of the team is Steve Fowler, who is based in Chicago.