(Bloomberg) — Bank of America Corp. hired Citigroup Inc.s Kim Stolz and Scott Lee as directors for equity derivatives sales, according to two people with knowledge of the moves.
Stolz, 31, an author and former model, began last month and will focus on the U.S., according to one of the people, who requested anonymity because the hires havent been publicly announced. Lee will concentrate on sales to clients in Asia for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, the person said.
Bank of America is seeking to make gains in equities trading against U.S. leaders Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley and separate itself from smaller rivals. The firm posted $2.19 billion in equities sales and trading revenue in the first six months of 2014, compared with Citigroups $1.54 billion.
Competition for talent has intensified, particularly among lower-ranked firms, Colm Kelleher, head of Morgan Stanleys investment bank and trading division, said in December. Citigroup has been buffeted by departures from its equities business, with three senior executives including trading chief Michael Pringle and equity derivatives head Simon Yates having left since March.
Zia Ahmed, a spokesman for Bank of America, declined to comment. Stolz didnt immediately respond to telephone and e- mail messages, while Lee declined to comment.
Top Model
Stolz joined New York-based Citigroup in equity derivatives sales in 2012 as part of the banks push to halt a slump in that business. She previously worked at brokerage BTIG LLC, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records.
She is the author of Unfriending My Ex: And Other Things Ill Never Do, published by Scribner in June, according to Amazon.com and her website. She opened the Dalloway, a bar in New Yorks SoHo neighborhood, in 2012 before closing it a year later. The business may reopen at a new location on the Lower East Side, according to its website.
MTV, the music network owned by New York-based Viacom Inc., employed Stolz from June 2006 through June 2010, according toFinrarecords. She was a contestant on the fifth season of Americas Next Top Model, according to a biography on MTVs website.
Lee joined Bank of America in April after less than two years at Citigroup, industry records show. He earlier spent about 10 years at UBS AG, the records show.
Equities accounts for about a quarter of the industrys trading and investment-banking revenue and includes commissions and gains from buying and selling stocks, futures, options and other derivatives, as well as fees and interest from providing services and lending to hedge funds. Bank of Americas global head of equities is Fabrizio Gallo, who reports to co-Chief Operating Officer Thomas Montag.
