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Element Financial Corp. continues its expansionary streak, hiring six members of Credit Suisse Group's structured finance team in the U.S. focusing on transportation.
Led by executive managing director Scott Corman, the group will be based in Stamford, Conn. where they will build on Element's existing relationships with major rail and aviation companies, as well as bringing their own base of institutional investors such as U.S. life insurance companies, the company said Friday in a press release.
Element has been making great strides in recent months. The transportation equipment leasing firm run by Bay Street veteran Steven Hudson purchased auto fleet leasing assets from PHH Corp. for $1.5-billion and has raised substantial amounts of capital to support its expansion plans, as banks appear to be stepping back from Element's key areas of activity.
Credit Suisse is also in the process of scaling back certain operations, as it undertakes a streamlining of its U.S. business following an eye-popping $1.78-billion (U.S.) settlement with authorities over its tax management strategies for clients. With uncertainty over regulatory constraints pressuring major banks' participation in structured products, issuance in the U.S. has become dominated by small– and medium-sized players.
In a note to clients, Barclays Capital Inc. analyst John Aiken described the move as "an interesting step and should broaden Element's revenue capability," saying he expects the group to "presumably arrange transactions that would not necessarily have been within Element's purview but serves the needs of its clients, as well as deepen relationships with current and potential partners in its financing."
Element hired David McKerroll, a co-founder of Mr. Hudson's former firm Newcourt Credit Corp., as president of its Element Capital arm in May.