Barclays Capital hires Siggi Thorkelsson as regional head of equities

Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of Barclays Bank, confirmed yesterday that it has hired long-term Lehman Brothers and Nomura veteran Sigurbjörn Siggi Thorkelsson as head of equities for Asia-Pacific, as the firm continues to build its equities platform.

In terms of titles, the role isn't new, but in the past Barclays' equities business has focused primarily on derivatives and equity-linked instruments. The build-out of a traditional equities business in Asia began after Barclays bought Lehman Brothers' US operations in the fourth quarter of 2008, which included an equities platform that formed the backbone of the firm's global efforts in this asset class. Thorkelsson will be the first to lead an equities business in Asia...