UBS lost another top banker when Jeff Raich, its co-global head of mergers and acquisitions, left the Swiss bank just weeks after the departure of Hartmuth Jung, vice-chairman of global investment banking.

In March, Ken Moelis, investment bank president and a veteran dealmaker who helped to build the bank into a top M&A player over the past six years, announced he would step down in June and Jeff McDermott, the co-head of investment banking, resigned.

It is believed that Mr Raich, who was at UBS for six years, will join a new boutique investment bank Mr Moelis, his mentor, is starting in Los Angeles. Both men were former bankers at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ).

Reuters reported that Piero Novelli, the co-global head of M&A, will become sole global head of M&A immediately. It said the news was announced in a memo sent by Alex Wilmot-Sitwell and Rick Leaman, UBS joint global investment banking heads.

BACKGROUND

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On Thursday UBS announced another wrenching change, accompanied by another altogether improbable explanation

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A separate memo also said John Sinik and Steve Smith, who hold senior positions in the UBS leveraged finance group, would immediately become joint global heads of leveraged finance . Mr Sinik will continue his role as co-head of the EMEA financial sponsors group with Christian Hess. Mr Smith will head the Americas financial sponsor coverage group.

UBS is the top M&A adviser in Europe this year with a 39.3 per cent market share and is number two in Asia with a 20.1 per cent share, behind Morgan Stanley. It is number nine in the United States with 15 per cent, according to Thomson Financial.

Separately, UBS hired Yuki Ikuno, formerly of Deutsche Bank, as head of leveraged finance origination in Japan.

His appointment comes amid the growth in buyout activity in Asia. Banks including UBS, Merill Lynch and Nomura are building up their leveraged finance businesses in the region as buyout firms stream into the sector, while KKR and Bain Capital opened offices in Tokyo last year.

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