Wachovia hires institutional foreign exchange dealers

Wachovia Bank has hired two institutional foreign exchange dealers in London, as part of a global drive to increase its institutional forex business.

London-based director Nils Johnson and vice-president Duncan Frost will develop non-dollar product relationships with institutional clients across Europe, reporting to Mark Gargano, managing director and head of non-dollar products at the bank's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Johnson was previously at Credit Agricole Indosuez in London, where he was senior credit officer. Frost was formerly an international sales specialist at Bank One in New York. They will work alongside the bank’s six institutional sales dealers in Charlotte, who trade internationally and in different time-zones.

US-based Lynn Tierney, vice-president of currency risk management at Wachovia, said the expansion would be helped by the bank’s existing distribution network.

"We’re committing resources to the institutional market by leveraging what we have. There are not that many banks who have 32 representative offices around the world. It’s fabulous to use that talent," Tierney said.

The bank is targeting financial institutions, funds, asset managers, government entities and internal institutional clients.