Credit Suisse has hired a senior trader to lead a new unit of bankers focused on the energy sector, as major investment banks increasingly prepare for companies to transition to cleaner fuel sources .
The Swiss bank has appointed Francesco Bedina as managing director and group head of energy and infrastructure for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to an internal memo seen by Financial news and confirmed by a bank spokesperson.
Bedina, who comes from Guggenheim Partners, will also serve on Credit Suisse’s ESG steering committee.
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“Francesco will lead our efforts in energy and infrastructure in Europe at a time when the theme of energy transition is accelerating and of strategic importance for our client companies in the electricity, oil and gas sectors, in particular, as well as other industries,” the memo reads. Jens Welter, head of Credit Suisse’s investment bank Emea, and Rob Santangelo and Randy Bayless, who co-lead the bank’s energy and infrastructure group globally.
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Bedina has “increasingly supported strategic and financial clients [to] define and execute their emerging energy transition strategies,” the memo adds.
Investment banks are increasingly recruiting dealmakers to focus on what is expected to be a huge pool of financing and mergers and acquisitions as companies shift from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources.
Citigroup has named newcomers Marie-Christine Olive and Philip ten Bosch as new leaders of a clean energy transition group in Europe, FN reported, while Nomura is basing its latest Wall Street expansion on sustainability issues.
Meanwhile, UBS has promoted Laurent Bouvier to lead a new ESG advisory group within its global banking business.
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