Bank of America has poached a top junk-bond trader from Deutsche Bank, leveling up in one of 2020’s red-hot trading markets

Junk-bond trading has ramped up amid the coronavirus outbreak and ensuing financial turmoil — and Bank of America just poached a top trader from Deutsche Bank, one of the foremost credit-trading shops in the industry. 

Jeff Chang, head of US high-yield trading at Deutsche, has resigned and is set to join Bank of America, according to people familiar with the matter. Chang will report to Scott Chestman, Bank of America’s US high-yield credit head, the people said.

Chang joined Deutsche from UBS in 2017, and spent time at Morgan Stanley trading credit before that.

A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment. Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Both Bank of America and Deutsche Bank are premier players in credit trading, an area that has seen heightened activity as corporate America reckons with the fallout of Covid-19. Waves of companies have been downgraded by credit-ratings agencies and piled on additional low-grade debt to cope with disappearing revenues amid the pandemic. 

Deutsche has had struggles in recent years, but its debt trading operation — especially in distressed credit — has long been a bright spot and continual money printer. But it’s now lost two senior traders to rivals in recent months. 

Before Chang, Morgan Stanley in April poached one Matthew Weinstein, of the industry’s top distressed-debt traders, who will run Morgan Stanley’s distressed desk in North America. 

This story is developing and may be updated.