JPMorgan revamps leveraged finance team

JPMorgan has announced a restructuring of its Asia-Pacific leveraged finance group with a new team and new name. The new group has been renamed syndication and leveraged finance and will cover non-investment grade bonds and loans in the Asia-Pacific region including Japan.

The newly forged group will be run out of Hong Kong and led by Eric Mason and Timothy Donohue, who will serve as co-heads. Both will report to Chris Nicholas, head of Asia credit markets and special situations and to Sean Wallace, head of Asian capital markets.

Mason, the current head of leveraged finance, is expected to focus on leveraged lending. On the other hand, Donohue is likely to direct his attentions to the high-yield bond business. Donohue will relocate from JPMorganÆs New York offices where he was a managing director in the high-yield capital markets group.

In addition to these moves, JPMorgan has also bolstered its Asia capital markets group.

Three months since his hiring from BNP Paribas, Ananth Ramachandran has been promoted to the role as head of high-grade origination. He will continue to be based in Singapore and joined the firm in May as head of debt capital markets coverage for South and Southeast Asia.

Elsewhere at JPMorgan, Simon Crisp will internally transfer from London to take on the Asia syndicate head role, which was left vacant by Fergus EdwardsÆ departure for UBSÆ fixed income syndicate team in April.