Citi Dismantles Latin America Corporate Bond Trading Desk

Citigroup Inc. dismantled its Latin America corporate bond trading team as liquidity tightens and issuance dries up, according to two people familiar with the matter.

(Bloomberg) — Citigroup Inc. dismantled its Latin America corporate bond trading team as liquidity tightens and issuance dries up, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The move affected traders including Christopher Castelli, Albert Chang, Nabilah Kamal and desk strategist Miguel Garcia de Onrubia — all of whom were based in New York, said the people, who requested anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak about it.

A representative for Citigroup declined to comment. None of the traders nor the analyst responded to messages seeking comment.

Some of those affected are interviewing for other positions at the bank, while others have departed, the people said.

Georges Fernandes and Julian Salcedo are trading the majority of notes from the larger, most liquid companies, in addition to their duties as sovereign traders for Latin America, according to the people.

Latin American corporate debt has returned 1.3% this year, trailing the 2.2% average return for peers across emerging markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Companies in the region have only sold $12.6 billion of new debt so far this year, a 46% drop from the same period a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

(Updates with issuance data in last two paragraphs.)

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