Jefferies banker George Maddison to retire, sources say

By Andres Gonzalez and Amy-Jo Crowley

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - The chairman of Jefferies' European investment banking Financial Institutions Group, George Maddison, is retiring from his role, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.

The banker, who is stepping down after a four-year stint, was brought in from Credit Suisse as Jefferies sought to build up its FIG advisory business. He spent more than 30 years at Credit Suisse, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Maddison was part of the team advising activist investor Elliott Advisors in its ultimately rejected bid for British retailer Currys last year.

The U.S. bank also advised Santander last year on the sale of its stake in custody and asset servicing entity Caceis to Credit Agricole, according to LSEG, and was involved in other deals like doValue's acquisition of Gardant.

A Jefferies spokesperson declined to comment while Maddison did not reply to a request for comment.

Jefferies has nearly doubled the number of managing directors in investment banking in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the last five years, and has 104 bankers in the region, the bank said in a recent LinkedIn post.