Merrill Lynch hires Credit Suisse derivatives head in Japan

Merrill LynchÆs prime brokerage operation has hired Scott Shenk to head its Pacific rim listed futures and options business in Tokyo. He will operate across multi-asset classes in equity and fixed income within listed derivatives and will focus on Japanese hedge funds and other local institutions.

For the time being he will be operating solo and there are no plans to hire anyone else on this new derivatives desk, but he will be working alongside equity and debt salesmen across the Merrill globe.

Shenk has been lured from Credit Suisse, where he was head of the listed derivatives group in Japan responsible for its Japanese listed futures and options business. His work experience has been entirely in Asia, with the last 10 years based in Japan and focused on listed derivatives.

He will report regionally to Merrill LynchÆs Asian prime brokerage supremo Melvyn Ford, the regional head of global markets financing and services who is based in Hong Kong, and functionally to Jon Dye, global head of financial futures and options in New York.