(Jan 20): Barclays Plc hired Paul Johnson from Goldman Sachs Group Inc, as head of equities for the Asia-Pacific, part of its three-year plan to boost its equities franchise in the region.

Johnson, who had worked at Goldman in Hong Kong since 2015, will drive platforms, products and client coverage across the Asia-Pacific, according to an internal memo. He’s tasked with expanding derivatives, equity-linked financing, electronic trading and will have oversight of prime brokerage businesses, the memo said. A Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for the British lender confirmed the memo’s contents.

The appointment is part of a global push at Barclays to grow its equities business and build out its platform. In February, the London-based bank unveiled a three-year plan to boost returns by plowing more capital into more profitable businesses, including prime brokerage services and equity derivatives.

Johnson will work closely with Christian Treuer, who was made head of equities distribution for the region in July. Based in Hong Kong, he will report globally to Scott McDavid and regionally to Jaideep Khanna, head of Asia-Pacific. He will also join both the global equities management committee and the markets management team for the Asia-Pacific.

Johnson was most recently co-head of equity derivatives and head of exotics equity derivatives trading for Goldman in Hong Kong. Prior to his stint at Goldman, he was head of Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, & Latam forex options trading at Bank of America in London, the memo said.

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