Morgan Stanley has appointed Michael Droege, the former director of FX spot trading at Credit Suisse, to join its foreign exchange business, according to his Linkedin profile.
The hiring is a sign of Morgan Stanley’s focus on Forex and flow business as investor appetite grows for such products after a market meltdown last year saw demand wane for riskier derivatives. Last year, the US investment bank made a $15 million investment in foreign exchange (FX) technology and Trading Platform provider, Integral.
For Credit Suisse, Michael’s departure comes less than a year after Andrew Peel left the Swiss lender, also to join Morgan Stanley as its head of digital asset markets. Peel parted ways with Credit Suisse after a 12-year long tenure. His most recent position at the Swiss Bank was Vice President of sales and trading innovation.
Droege has spent more than 25 years in the FX market with a particular focus on trading spot products. For five years he ran foreign exchange trading at Credit Suisse.
He joins the US bank from German FinTech firm savedroid, which offers AI-based cryptocurrency saving plans in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Litecoin, IOTA, and other virtual assets. Michael served most recently as savedroid’s chief risk officer, helping the company navigate crypto investment opportunities, such as portfolios, derivatives, and ICOs.
Droege also served previously as director of foreign exchange trading at WestLB baking group. He originally started his career as senior FX spot trader at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein back in 1996.
Back in 2018, Morgan Stanley reached a settlement with Brazil’s competition authority, fining the bank alongside Royal Bank of Canada a combined 42.9 million reals ($11.6 million) for forming a cartel manipulate FX markets.
The Brazilian antitrust watchdog accused the banks of colluding to influence bid and ask spreads on OTC transactions involving the Brazilian real, in a bid to make bigger profits to the detriment of customers.
