Pivotal role for Keelan

BRIAN KEELAN, the abrasive number cruncher whose application of arcane financial engineering to corporate finance left stuffier rivals gasping and drew heavy scrutiny from the regulators, is set for a bigger role after Swiss Bank Corporation's takeover of SG Warburg - possibly taking overall responsibility for UK clients.

The name of Mr Keelan, a managing director in corporate finance at Swiss Bank, was omitted last week from a leaked document describing part of the senior management structure for the merged entity - suggesting there was no role for him in the new company, to be called SBC Warburg. But Swiss Bank sources believe Mr Keelan, who has received a resounding vote of confidence at the most senior levels in the bank, may move upwards.

A Warburg spokesman said: "Nothing has been announced. But when I saw Mr Keelan, he looked pretty happy."

Warburg's head of corporate finance, Mark Nicholls, has joined the merged board and Warburg executives will dominate senior positions in the department.

Meanwhile, Rodney Ward, the Warburg head of Asia Pacific who is joining the SBC Warburg board, will have his work cut out convincing colleagues to retain Warburg's presence in Japanese equities, as volumes in the Tokyo market are so depressed. Swiss Bank still has a seat on the Tokyo stock exchange but moved its Asia headquarters out from Tokyo to Hong Kong last year.