JP Morgan has hired George Foussianes, a top banker at HSBC, to become a managing director in its private equity banking team.

JP Morgan’s financial sponsors group, as private equity bankers are known on Wall Street, also hired two other bankers, one from UBS and the other from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, according to an internal memo, dated June 13.

Mr Foussianes joined HSBC in April 2005 as head of its Americas Global Banking group, overseeing investment banking, corporate banking, leveraged finance and private equity. He was poached from Goldman Sachs where he was a managing director in the M&A group, focusing on industrials and natural resources.

JPMorgan’s sponsors group also hired James Gray from UBS, where he was a managing director and founding member of the UBS Financial Sponsor Group, according to the memo.

The group hired David Sommer from CIBC, where he was a managing director in the Financial Sponsors Group. Mr Sommer will focus on expanding our midcap sponsor coverage platform, the memo says.

Financial sponsors groups across Wall Street have increased substantially in size in the last few years, as demands grow from the surging private equity deal volume. Sponsor groups typically are responsible for maintaining the relationship with private equity firms, generating ideas for them and arranging financing for deals.

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