Barclays Plc has appointed company veteran Na Wei as its global head of leveraged finance as the bank seeks to capture more business from the giants of private equity.
Wei will report to Travis Barnes and Tom Johnson, global co-heads of capital markets, Barclays said in a statement. She first joined the British lender's leveraged finance business in London in 2007 and has played a key role in increasing Barclays' market share with the firm's top 20 financial sponsors clients, the statement said.
Barclays has been working to boost its business with private equity firms, which largely use debt to finance buyouts and acquisitions. For years, those clients were able to raise larger and larger funds as they benefited from a low cost of capital and rising valuations.
But Wei's appointment comes as the tide has turned for the industry. With the market for initial public offerings largely shut in the last two years, sponsors weren't able to exit their investments as easily. That's hindered their ability to redistribute money to their investors.
"We are seeing a pickup again around financial sponsors and leveraged buyout activity," Barnes said in an interview. "There is a number of private equity funds globally looking at transactions at compelling valuations — that will be a key driver for our business as well as corporates looking to refinance."
Already, the renewed focus on the business is starting to bear fruit: Barclays was sole physical bookrunner on five leveraged loan transactions valued at over $1 billion last month, including a $3 billion debt deal for Jane Street Group LLC and a $4.3 billion transaction for the fast-food franchise owner Inspire Brands.
Wei is taking the reins of the division as shareholders continue to question the importance of Barclays's investment bank because it consumes large amounts of capital compared with other, higher-returning parts of the bank's business. The company is planning to update investors on its strategy and provide new financial targets at a shareholder event later this month.
Leveraged finance is among the most capital-intensive businesses on Wall Street. Already, Barclays executives have instructed bankers to review ties to certain financial sponsors that have used the British bank for financing without taking advantage of the firm's advisory capabilities, Bloomberg
Chief Executive Officer C.S. Venkatakrishnan has acknowledged, though, that the bank's results have been affected by the firm's decision to sit out some leveraged finance deals last year, which came after the bank was forced to book losses on that portfolio in 2022.
"We have been a top 5 player in leverage finance for the past decade, and we want to be part of that group again in 2024," Barnes said. "That's our near-term ambition."
