Barclays hit by more departures as Plaster, Hudson exit, sources say

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Echo Wang

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Barclays banker John Plaster, who led the bank's power and utilities group in the Americas, has resigned to join Guggenheim Partners, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Mark Hudson, a managing director who worked in the industrials group, is also leaving Barclays and will join Jefferies Financial Group, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Barclays has faced a raft of defections in recent weeks. Reuters reported last week that Barclays Chief Executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan held a virtual town hall to address concerns over talent flight from the U.S. investment banking team.

Asked about the departures of Plaster and Hudson, Barclays had no comment. A representative said the bank plans for "natural attrition when changes occur," adding that "we are confident in our strategy, will continue to invest in talent, and we are committed to supporting and helping clients navigate today's economic environment."

Plaster worked on a deal last year that saw Germany's largest power producer RWE buy ConEdison's Clean Energy Business for $6.8 billion.

PeakLoad first reported Plaster's move.

Guggenheim declined comment. Jefferies did not respond to a request for comment.

More than two dozen U.S. investment bankers have left Barclays since it named former Credit Suisse Group AG investment banking and capital markets co-head Cathal Deasy and former Morgan Stanley global capital markets co-head Taylor Wright as global co-heads of investment banking in January.

Joining the list now are Plaster and Hudson, both veteran bankers who were at Lehman Brothers before joining Barclays when it bought Lehman's U.S. business during the global financial crisis, according to their LinkedIn profiles.

Neither Plaster nor Hudson responded to requests for comment.

Barclays on Wednesday said its corporate and investment bank's plan is to break into the top five in the league tables, and a key pillar to achieve that goal is to attract and retain "top talent with the right leadership."

The bank slipped to 14th place in Refinitiv's Americas mergers and acquisitions league table in the first quarter of 2023 from sixth a year earlier, even as it jumped from ninth to fifth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa league table, as its U.S. dealmakers struggled to preserve market share amid a slowdown in transactions.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Echo Wang in New York; Additional Reporting by David French; Editing by Will Dunham, Chris Reese and Diane Craft)