RBS hires 16 in mortgages, including 15 from Bear

NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - RBS Greenwich Capital, a U.S. investment banking unit of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS.L), said on Wednesday it has hired 16 people to join its mortgage-backed securities team, including 15 from the former Bear Stearns Cos.

Scott Eichel, a former Bear employee, will become co-head of asset-backed and mortgage trading with RBS' David Cannon.

RBS said the new hires also include six other former Bear traders, including Adam Siegel and Paul Van Lingen, and eight former Bear salespeople. The 16th hire is John Suh, who joins from Banc of America Securities to trade mortgage derivatives.

Bear collapsed earlier this year and was acquired at the end of May by JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel)