Barclays hired a trader to run a previously problematic book. He left after 3 months
This time four years ago, Barclays was having issues with its deal contingent trading book, which reportedly lost $100m when a deal that was supposed to happen didn't. There are no indications that something similar has happened recently, but it's nonetheless notable that someone only recently hired to run that book has left again.
Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here.
Barclays isn't commenting. It's understood that Robert Fitzpatrick, a former Santander and Bank of America trader joined the British bank to run the book in June and then departed earlier this month.
It's not clear why Fitzpatrick came and went, and we haven't spoken to him for this article. It's thought he was hired by Jerry Minier, Barclays' co-head of FX who himself left in August. It's suggested that he preferred Santander and may have gone back there. Santander didn't respond to a request to comment.
Deal contingent trades involve currency hedges for cross border mergers. In 2022, Barclays and Deutsche Bank both provided $1bn of currency hedges for Chinese investor Prosus, which was acquiring internet giant Bill desk for $4.7bn. The rupee depreciated and Prosus' bid expired, and both banks were left with a circa $100m loss.
Fitzpatrick spent five years at Santander before trying Barclays. He previously spent at least five years at BofA.
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Signal: sarahbutcher.22 Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com.
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: comments are moderated intermittently by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You must take sole responsibility for comments you post on this site. We will take reasonable steps to weed out anything that we consider to be offensive or inappropriate.
