March 26, 2009

Tough-talking Wall Street analyst Michael Mayo of Deutsche Bank AG's U.S. arm, who has privately grumbled that the German bank has restricted his ability to speak freely, is leaving to join boutique firm CLSA, according to people familiar with the matter.Mr. Mayo, who in 1999 published a 1,000-page report calling for investors to sell bank stocks and never changed his view on the sector, will be succeeded by Glenn Schorr, who resigned Tuesday from UBS AG.The move by Mr. Mayo after two years with Deutsche Bank Securities in New York signals a larger change on Wall Street.

Boutiques like CLSA are hiring big names to gain market share from bigger firms, many of which are struggling after logging billions of dollars in real-restate related losses. CLSA, a subsidiary of Paris-based Crédit Agricole SA, prides itself on publishing independent research.Firms like Deutsche Bank also are taking advantage of the dislocation among larger competitors.A number of top Merrill Lynch & Co. financial-services bankers, many of whom were unhappy with their firm's recent sale to Bank of America Corp.