Barclays hired a rates trader known as G-Unit and people are excited

These are tough times and they are especially tough times in macro at Barclays, where the third quarter was so feeble that Barclays' CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan said the D-word ("disappointing") and that the bank is "giving this attention". Some of this attention seems to involve hiring new people.

We suggested earlier that Barclays might hire Zoeb Sachee, who has been newly unleashed from Citi. In fact, Barclays has hired Graham Bates, who was last seen at Capula. 

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Barclays isn't commenting but multiple sources say Bates joined the bank. The FCA Register says Bates' middle name is Paul and that he left Capula in July 2024 after four years there. He previously spent over a decade at JPMorgan.

Bates has presumably decided that now is not an opportune time to go to a macro hedge fund.

Bates is sometimes referred to as G-Unit in reflection of his propensity for risk-taking. It's thought he's head of euro swaps trading at Barclays. Bates will have the opportunity to work with Puni Raja, Barclays' star real money rates sales guy. He will also have the opportunity to work with Tanya Kohli, Barclays' UK head of pensions and insurance rates sales, with whom he previously worked at JPMorgan.

Barclays is accumulating traders from hedge funds Last month it rehired Julien Ercole, its former head of peripheral European government bond trading from Point72. It also hired Mark Wade, a STIR trader from Nomura. 

Barclays still has a vacancy for a head of European rates trading after Hamza Houmaddy left a few weeks ago.

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