Societe Generale hires futures heads from Bache

Societe Generale has hired Nicholas Stephens and GregHolley, two of the most senior futures brokers from Jefferies Bache, markingthe latest brokers to move to the French bank from the defunct commoditiesfirm.

Stephens and Holley joined SG as managing directors lastmonth, according to sources, and are among the 22 former Bache staffers set totransfer to the French futures giant from Bache.

Stephens is now SG’s head of sales and marketing for futuresand options and Holley is running the French bank’s London-based futuresexecution desk.

A spokesman for Societe Generale declined to comment.

The hires are a coup for SG as Stephens and Holley were twoof the most senior brokers at Bache and they should strengthen SG’s firepowerat a time some of their main large rivals are losing senior staff.

Stephens and Holley both have previous with Societe Generale.

Stephens was the head of futures and head of exchange-tradedsales and marketing at Bache Commodities having joined the firm in early 2003from Citigroup.

Before Citi, Stephens was for eight years the London head offinancial futures and options at Credit Lyonnais Rouse, which became in 2008part of Newedge, which is now owned by SG.

Holley was Bache’s managing director, head of financial futuresand options execution, a role he held for over four years since joining Bachefrom Newedge.

Holley joined Cube Financial in early 2004 and worked thereuntil that firm was bought by Societe Generale’s Fimat in late 2006 and thenmerged in early 2008 with Calyon to form Newedge, where Holley worked until heleft for Bache in mid-2011.

Stephens and Holley are the highest profile Bache brokers tohave made the step to SG so far following an agreement signed between the firmsin April that would see the French bank take some Bache clients and staff.

Most of the Bache staff in London and the US were put atrisk of redundancy in April immediately after the SG deal was struck, asfirst reported by FOW.

Brokerage firms including ED&F Man,  Macquarie,  SucdenFinancial,  INTLFC Stone,  ADMInvestor Services,  WellsFargo and  ScotiaBank  are among the firms that have hired former Bachebrokers, as first reported by FOW.

SG's hiring is at odds with some other largefutures banks that have lost senior staff this year, particularly on theclearing side.

Last month Nomura’s global product head of derivativesclearing Mark Croxon left that bank, as first reported by FOW, and UBS partedcompany last month with Helen Lofthouse, its European head of exchange-tradedderivatives clearing sales, as first reported by FOW.

JPMorgan parted company last month with Niamh Lane, its former head ofEuropean derivatives clearing solutions, and inMay Hester Serafini, the bank’s former European head of swaps clearing, asfirst reported by FOW.

Gavin Dixon, the former European head of derivativesclearing at BNP Paribas and chairman of swaps clearing consortium OTCDerivNet,left those posts in May.