Credit Suisse boosts mining division by luring Morgan Stanley’s top expert

Credit Suisse announced Wednesday it recruited David Hammond, the well-known mining banker from Morgan Stanley, to head up the mining and metals efforts of the Swiss bank worldwide.

In a memo circulated internally on Wednesday, the bank announced Hammond, who was global manager of metals and mining at Morgan Stanley and had been at the US bank since 1997, was joining Credit Suisse in October, reports Financial Times:

The move comes amid hopes for more activity in the mining sector, as beaten down valuations, rising costs and the difficulties of developing promising new mines prompt companies to consider buying rather than building their growth. Industry advisers also initially expected the $60billion merger of Xstrata with commodities trader Glencore to set off another round of takeover discussions in the sector as mining groups considered how best to respond to their new heavyweight peer.

The news come only a day after the Swiss bank reported it would raise billions of dollars of new capital in a bid to end uncertainty about the bank’s health. The plan to boost its capital by $19.7 billion, includes steps such as issuing convertible bonds and bringing forward an exchange of hybrid capital notes – which would immediately boost capital by $8.9 billion.

Credit Suisse expects to raise an additional $6.75 billion by the end of the year.