Hall hops home

Credit Suisse First Boston has lost one of its most talented ECM bankers following the news that Julian Hall is leaving the firm to join ABN AMRO in London. His return to England is partly a reflection of the right job coming up at the right time and in part a desire to return to his Sussex roots with his family.

Since his arrival in June 2000, Hall has helped take CSFB from nowhere to the very top of the equity-linked league tables. Before his arrival, the firm had not executed a single convertible deal since 1997. Since then, the team has gone on to win 21 awards in three years, not least of which has been FinanceAsia's equity-linked house of the year for both 2001 and 2002.

Under Hall, CSFB has developed a reputation for innovation and indeed his first transaction was an unusual exchangeable for the Industrial Bank of Korea into Korea Tobacco & Ginseng, which used a triple-A collateralized structure. Throughout 2001, CSFB executed a number of trades enabling the Korean government to monetize large stakes through an equity-linked structure.

Then in 2002, the team stood out once more when it launched the first public convertible denominated in Hong Kong dollars for Hang Lung properties, re-opened the deal a short while later and set the benchmark for the Taiwan FIG sector with the first convertible for Fubon Financial Holdings.

Hall, a former British amateur champion wind surfer and chartered surveyor, has always been considered a fierce but ultimately friendly competitor. Just prior to his departure, he had also been mulling over the possibility of setting up a "boy" band with his ex-boss Nick Andrews, now head of equities at JPMorgan and Nomura's head of ECM, David Dean.

He will now take up a senior role within ABN's equity-linked origination team. He will be replaced by CSFB.