Barclays PLC has hired a new head of Canadian merger and acquisition execution from Toronto-Dominion Bank, as the British bank continues to rebuild its team in Canada.
Stephen Stewart will report to head of Canadian investment banking Ryan Voegeli and head of Americas M&A Dan Grabos, Barclays announced Friday. Mr. Stewart has spent the past 16 years with TD Securities, most recently as managing director of M&A.
He joins the London-based bank roughly one year after Barclays lost more than a dozen of its senior Canadian bankers to the Canadian arm of Wall Street investment dealer Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Over a roughly six-week period in 2023, Jefferies hired Barclays’s Canadian head of mergers and acquisitions, its head of equity capital markets, several other investment bankers and three analysts, who covered financial institutions, mining and energy.
Bruce Rothney, who had previously spent 13 years as chief executive officer of Barclays Canada, also joined Jefferies as CEO of its Canadian division in late 2023.
Since then, Barclays has hired several banking executives away from major Canadian financial institutions in an effort to rebuild its ranks. Geoffrey Belsher was hired as Barclays Canada CEO in October, 2023, marking the second time he has led its operations, after having briefly served as president of Barclays Canada in 2008, when he joined the company as part of its acquisition of Lehman Brothers.
“This hire is further evidence of our unwavering commitment to Canada, and the addition of Stephen to the team will help us to further build upon our strong momentum,” Mr. Belsher said in a statement.
Less than three months after hiring Mr. Belsher, Mr. Voegeli joined Barclays after having spent 13 years with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
Mr. Stewart’s team at TD advised the special committee of Montreal-based digital payments processor Nuvei Corp. on its US$6.3-billion privatization deal earlier this year. He also advised George Weston on the spin-out of Choice Properties from Loblaw and Choice Properties on its $6-billion acquisition of Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust.
His appointment comes at a challenging time for Canadian M&A activity. Deal-making has been stuck in a rut since the start of 2024, showing virtually no signs of improvement as recently as late June. Both buyers and sellers remain at odds over valuations amid ongoing economic uncertainty and market volatility.