Small investment bank StormHarbour adds 40 staff in 2012

LONDON (Reuters) - Stormharbour said several new senior executives had joined the small investment bank to take its number of new hires to 40 this year, at a time when most of its big rivals are cutting back.

The company, set up in 2009 following the financial crisis, now has about 170 employees across its New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo offices as well as Madrid and Lisbon branches, up 30 percent this year.

Among the executives to join recently is Helmuth Bahn, becoming Managing Director, Head of Germany and Austria origination, who came from Peras Associates, a corporate finance advisory firm he founded.

Other newcomers are George Giannakis, who becomes Managing Director, Greece and central and eastern Europe client coverage after joining from Citigroup Global Markets (C.N), and Mounir Guessous, as Managing Director, France client coverage, joining from the Moroccan Financial Board.

Earlier this year StormHarbour hired former Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) chief executive Eric Daniels as a senior advisor.

StormHarbour was co-founded by Antonio Cacorino and Fredrick Chapey, both former senior bankers at Citigroup.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Anthony Barker)