High Turnover in Small Pool of Bond Traders Hits Canadian Banks

9j({s06ctpaaff[cxfvbwmzk_media_dl_1.png Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — Banks are luring former bond traders out of retirement in Canada, as a high level of staff turnover shakes up the government finance sector at a busy time in the market. 

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Brad Pederson joined Royal Bank of Canada last month as a senior government bond trader, a spokesperson said. Pederson had retired after bowing out from running Canadian rates trading and government finance at Toronto-Dominion Bank.

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At TD, Steve Fraser returned from a hiatus in April to become director of government spread product trading, a spokesperson said. Jamie Williams, who previously led Canadian government trading at HSBC and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, joined ATB Capital Markets earlier this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Banks are also poaching from one another. TD hired Dan Wilson away from RBC after it lost Sameer Rehman and David Gourlay to rival firms earlier this year. The chain reaction of replacement hires rippled through the sector.

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“There are elevated levels of movement on the street across Canadian fixed income,” said Dan Ram, RBC’s global head of rates and foreign-exchange forwards. 

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The churn on trading desks is happening at a time when Canada’s public-sector debt market is adapting to higher volumes of new bonds, as economic uncertainty and the trade war do damage to government finances. 

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Canadian provinces are just beginning to face the repercussions of slowing demand and new US tariffs, Laura Gu, senior economist with Desjardins Group, wrote in a June 3 report. Provincial governments are increasing capital spending to boost growth: combined provincial budget deficits are expected to widen to C$45 billion ($32.9 billion) in the current fiscal year from around C$20.1 billion, Gu wrote at the time. 

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Federally, Prime Minister Mark Carney has yet to release a budget, but his plans to shore up the Canadian economy and military suggest higher deficits to come. 

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All of that points to more public-sector bonds to underwrite and trade for Canadian banks. 

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“Heightened volatility and robust public-sector issuance will continue,” RBC’s Ram said. “We’re preparing for this environment by investing in talent and experience.”

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The bank created a leadership position — head of Canadian bond trading — for Gourlay. Pederson, fresh out of retirement, will also train juniors on the team in addition to trading, Ram said. 

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The recruitment pool is limited for government finance positions in banking because the roles require specialized expertise and deep relationships built over decades, said Bill Vlaad, who runs Toronto-based recruitment firm Vlaad & Co. People in these jobs tend to stay at the same banks, he added, and the high turnover probably won’t continue.

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