BAML Poaches Senior Corporate Analyst

Veteran corporate debt analyst Anne Milne is on gardening leave for 3 months after quitting Deutsche Bank for Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), where she will become global head of EM corporate research. Milne was an MD and head of Deutsche’s LatAm corporate bond research group since 2002. Prior to that, she was head of LatAm corporate bond research at JPMorgan. In the relatively small pool of respected LatAm corporate debt analysts with a track record, Milne is a major fish. Her defection is a blow to Deutsche, which is ramping up regional DCM coverage after making some senior hires from Merrill last year. “This is a big name to hire,” says a banker at a competing shop. He adds that Milne’s move makes sense, since she likes to publish and would want to be at a leading market participant. BAML has had a strong start to 2010, rising to second in the LatAm DCM league table. It has booked $1.8bn in proceeds in the year to March 18, taking 11% of the market, Dealogic data shows. This compares to $505m (4.4%) in the corresponding period of 2009, when it ranked eighth. Deutsche remains in ninth position – same as in 2009 – with 5% share. For corporates, BAML is fifth in the region, with 7.92% market share, while Deutsche is seventh with 6.30%, according to Dealogic. BAML also surpassed expectations last year, boosted by a strong high yield corporate run in the second half. It bagged $29.8m in revenue (7.9% share) from DCM, putting it third in the overall 2009 LatAm debt ranking. It failed to make the top 10 in 2008. Deutsche declines to comment on a replacement for Milne.