News Releases
BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: BMO), announced today it has established a foreign exchange sales and trading desk in London, England, a move that will further bolster BMO's dominant position in the Canadian-dollar foreign exchange market.
The new office provides BMO's growing base of FX clients with improved access to information and increased liquidity during the European session. To lead this effort, BMO has appointed Lorne Gavsie as Director, Sales & Trading in London. Mr. Gavsie's primary role will be to build a platform in Europe focused on the Canadian dollar and active order management for clients.
The firm has also hired Derek Shewring and Simon Watkins, two leading European FX professionals, to build upon BMO's new on the ground European FX desk capabilities. Mr. Shewring is named Director & Senior Trader and will be responsible for trading spot FX, executing client transactions and risk management on behalf of BMO. Mr. Watkins is appointed Vice-President, Sales & Trading and will have a dual role focused on both marketing and trading.
“London is an important market for us as we continue to build our leadership presence in the global foreign exchange market,” said Jamie Thorsen, Global Head of Foreign Exchange Products & China Capital Markets for BMO Capital Markets. “Lorne, Derek and Simon bring tremendous experience to the group and they will be instrumental in our efforts to continue to grow the FX business.”
About the New Team
Mr. Gavsie joined BMO in 2001 and was most recently responsible for generating business opportunities with the firm's FX and investment banking clients. Previously based in Toronto, Mr. Gavsie brings immense knowledge in successfully advising, structuring and executing FX deals for clients involved in large M&A and capital market issues. Mr. Gavsie will report to Firas Askari, Managing Director and Head of Canadian Dollar Trading, based in Toronto.
Mr. Shewring joins BMO most recently from the buy-side, where he managed the execution and marketing efforts for C-View, a large UK-based fund. He brings more than 30 years of FX Trading experience to BMO, having held the previous position of Chief Dealer with both RBC Capital Markets and Bank of America.
Mr. Watkins brings more than 15 years of FX experience to BMO having spent the bulk of his career on the London FX Forward desk at TD Securities. His deep knowledge of the Canadian dollar forward market and strong technical background adds immediate value to the BMO FX team.
“We plan to leverage Lorne and his team's extensive expertise in this area in Europe,” said Mr. Askari. “This is a natural progression of our globally recognized position as a leader in the Canadian dollar and is in response to growing demand for niche Canadian dollar expertise and liquidity in Europe.
"BMO Capital Markets is optimistic about the growth potential that we see in this market and additional FX professionals may be added in the U.K. as business opportunities arise,” Mr. Askari added.
Experts to Talk about the Canadian Dollar
Firas Askari and members of BMO's FX Team are available to discuss trends in the Canadian dollar and global currency markets. To schedule an interview, media are asked to call (416) 867-3996.
About BMO Capital Markets' Foreign Exchange Group
BMO Capital Markets holds a dominant position in the Canadian-dollar foreign exchange market and is top-ranked by large hedge funds and pension funds for institutional liquidity and pricing capacity. For more information, visit: www.bmocm.com/products/marketrisk/fx.
About BMO Capital Markets
BMO Capital Markets is a leading full-service North American financial services provider, with over 2,000 employees operating in 14 North American offices and 26 worldwide, offering corporate, institutional and government clients access to a complete range of investment and corporate banking products and services. BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with more than $359 billion in total assets and 35,000 employees as at July 31, 2007. For more information, visit www.bmocm.com.
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