Credit Suisse Punches Back with Merrill Hire

Credit Suisse took a quick payback swipe at Merrill Lynch by poaching Enrico Carbone for its Brazilian investment banking division. Last week, Merrill hired Credit Suisse’s Adriano Borges, head of real estate investment banking in Brazil, naming him managing director in charge of real estate and technology. Yesterday, CS said it hired Carbone, a director at Merrill in charge of various sectors, including retail, healthcare, technology and industrial services, to replace Borges. He will report to Jose Olympio, head of investment banking for Brazil, covering real estate and technology, among other sectors. The Swiss shop is responding swiftly to the recent Merrill raid, which has claimed two Credit Suisse scalps. But it remains to be seen if the swap was equitable. Whether because of lucky timing or skill, Borges is seen as something of a rainmaker, having ridden a wave of real estate equity offerings over the past two years. That Merrill awarded him an MD title says something about its interest in the banker, who was only a director at CS. And while Carbone has earned no such change in title, he’s moving to a shop with much longer track record of success in Brazilian investment banking. CS dominated LatAm equity in 2007, topping the league tables, and came in second in M&A by fee volume. The tit for tat between the two shops may cool down for the moment. Merrill made a point of saying last week that the Borges hire concludes its most recent hiring push in Brazil.