Just how hot is the current M&A market? A financial services company known mostly for its credit cards is jumping into the game. Capital One has hired a managing director from Bank of America to launch an advisory business in New York.
Jeffrey Porphy joined Capital One this month as its new head of M&A. The company said in a statement to eFinancialCareers that Porphy will be focused on building an advisory business for its current commercial banking clients. Capital One has previously provided financing for deals but this is its first official foray in into pure M&A advisory.
Known more for its retail products, Capital One has been active recently in divesting from non-core businesses. It exited the mortgage industry in May after selling its $17 billion portfolio of home loans to a subsidiary of Credit Suisse. Capital One also sold off its asset and trust management unit in December while shuttering its retail brokerage business in a January deal with E*TRADE.
Meanwhile, the company has been slowly building up its capital markets team over the years, highlighted by its $9 billion acquisition of General Electric’s healthcare financing unit in 2015. The firm also built out its technology, media and telecom (TMT) lending business with a host of former GE Capital hires.
Prior to his four-year stint as an MD at Bank of America, Porphy was the head of M&A and financial sponsors coverage at JMP Securities, which specializes particularly in healthcare and technology. He previously worked as an MD at Cowen and Co. and Barclays after cutting his teeth for over a decade at Credit Suisse, according to LinkedIn.
Capital One didn’t provide any details on whether it will build a team around Porphy, but one would expect additional hires to follow. Global M&A revenue is up over 60% on the year.
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