Deutsche Bank to hire more investment bankers
* Already hired 40 investment bankers in Americas
* To beef up industrials, raw materials banking
* Banker optimistic on outlook for IPOs
NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), which has navigated the crisis better than many large rivals, plans to hire more investment bankers in the Americas as it readies for an eventual turnaround, a top executive said on Wednesday.
The bank has already hired about 40 investment bankers in the past few months, said James DeNaut, head of global banking for the Americas.
The hires include more than 12 bankers for its financial institutions group from Merrill Lynch (BAC.N) alone.
DeNaut said the bank had made most of its significant hires in financial institutions, so the focus areas going forward are likely to be the other sectors where it expects activity in the coming months -- industrials and raw materials.
That would add to the hires it has already made there, including the recruitment in March of two managing directors for its natural resources group.
Daniel Ward took on the role of head of energy for the Americas and Sten Gustafson was hired to develop the bank's global oilfield services practice. Both Ward and Gustafson were previously at UBS AG (UBSN.VX).
In October, the German bank hired Paul Stefanick as global head of its industrials group from Merrill Lynch.
DeNaut was speaking at a Deutsche Bank news briefing on corporate finance. Bruce Evans, the bank's head of M&A for the Americas and Richard Byrne, head of global capital markets for the Americas, were also speaking at the event, held at the bank's downtown Manhattan offices.
Deals have taken a backseat amid the financial crisis as companies grapple with economic uncertainty and market volatility. But some investment banks, including boutiques such as Greenhill & Co Inc (GHL.N) and Moelis & Co, are using the upheaval as an opportunity to add to their ranks.
As these new hires, many of whom are still on so-called "gardening leave" between jobs, begin work and bring new business, it could change how the rankings of M&A advisers, or league tables, look in the future.
For the second quarter through June 17, Deutsche Bank was No. 15 in the Americas and No. 9 globally in M&A league tables, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The Deutsche bankers did not forecast an upsurge in deals anytime soon, but saw signs of stability returning to the system.
Byrne said a large increase in follow-on offerings and convertible bond offerings in the last few months bodes well for IPOs.
"It's only logical to assume that IPOs can't be far behind. That's the next phase," Byrne added. (Reporting by Paritosh Bansal; editing by Andre Grenon) (For more M&A news and our DealZone blog, go to www.reuters.com/deals)
