Barclays' escaped trader may be the subject of a wild bidding war
Where is Ankur Aneja? Since leaving Barclays in July, he has been lying low. Speculation is increasing that he might soon come out of his hole.
Aneja was a managing director in euro swaps trading at Barclays, where he worked for 20 years in London. He's one of many departures from the bank's macro desk, which has lost at least five people since June, by our count.
Aneja is thought to have left Barclays voluntarily. Unusually, he is also thought to have left the bank without another job lined up and to have spent the summer relaxing with his family.
It's also thought that he may have spent the summer interviewing with an array of other banks and hedge funds, many of which would like to hire him. Former colleagues say Aneja was one of Barclays' top performers over many years and that there are rumours of a bidding war for his talents. He did not respond to attempts to validate this.
Aneja's appeal is thought to have been magnified by the fact that he allegedly left Barclays with much of his stock intact and does not need to be bought out. "It’s extremely rare for a trader with a good track record to negotiate an exit," observes the ex-colleague.
Aneja is not the only floater on the market. The whereabouts of Rajiv Shah also remains a mystery since he left BNP Paribas earlier this month.
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