Wells Fargo European DCM head leaves role

Bryant Owens, head of European debt capital markets and syndicate for the Emea region at US bank Wells Fargo, is leaving the bank’s London office after nine years to return to his native Charlotte, North Carolina

Owens will continue to work for the bank, where he will have responsibility for expanding coverage of depository institutions in the financial institutions group of the bank’s investment banking and capital markets division.
Robert Fernandez will succeed Owens, having joined the firm’s London office yesterday as head of the international debt capital markets group, according to a statement from the bank.
Fernandez, who will report to William Ingram, head of high-grade capital markets, joins from BNP Paribas, where he ran capital markets in the central and eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region.
Ingram said: “Robert brings over 25 years of international investment banking experience to continue the work Bryant began almost a decade ago, offering our clients access to the international debt capital markets and providing them with deep industry knowledge and trusted advice.”
A central task for Wells Fargo’s London debt team is the origination of Yankee issuance – dollar-denominated bonds issued by non-US borrowers but targeted at the domestic American investor base.
A key transaction for the bank came during 2010, when it advised on a $3.8bn hybrid capital transaction for HSBC.
The firm is ranked ninth overall for US debt capital markets issuance, rising to sixth for financials issuance and second for subordinated financials, such as the HSBC deal.