David Pepper, 1968-2019 – The loan market mourns the “king of Turkey”

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The head of EMEA lending capital markets at Bank of America died on November 13 at the age of 51 from a serious illness.

“He was a gentleman,” said Jeff Tannenbaum, head of EMEA debt capital markets and leveraged finance at BofA, to whom Pepper reported. “When you work in investment banking, which is intense and people are under a huge time pressure, you never felt like you were under a time pressure with David. “

Pepper made a name for himself in the lending market at WestLB, where he specialized in borrowers from Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, before joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2011. .

At WestLB, he quickly took the lead of the CEEMEA union team. “It was very impressive to see how he continued to crack and win mandates for West LB – despite his well-publicized issues in the mid and late 2000s – which were largely achieved through his knowledge, drive and his experience in the markets, ”said Richard Hill, director of loan sales for Societe Generale, a friend who worked with Pepper at WestLB for almost a decade.

Pepper was particularly known for his work in Turkey. According to colleagues at BofA and WestLB, he has been hailed by many of his clients as the “King of Turkey” for his detailed understanding of the ins and outs of this market.

“Never go neck and neck with David on Turkey,” said a credit banker from a rival bank.

When Pepper left WestLB for BofA Merrill, emerging markets were his initial focus, but his talent was recognized and, as he became co-head of Lending Capital Markets in 2015, his tenure expanded.

“He was like a successful Don Quixote,” said Damien Orban, Pepper’s right-hand man in the loans office. “He had an incredible knowledge of the market and a deep understanding of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

BofA was never close to the top 10 banks in EMEA loans before Pepper joined. But since becoming co-head of the company, BofA has come sixth in 2017 and fourth in 2019, according to Dealogic.

“From the outside, he appeared to be successful in growing and transforming the loan syndicate part of Bank of America‘s business while he was there,” Hill said.

But it wasn’t just Pepper’s professional skills and success that other loan market participants admired. His open and generous character also marked him.

“What I found particularly impressive was that David was not a natural extrovert, but he knew his market incredibly well and he had a dry sense of humor that attracted people to him,” said Hill.

Countless bankers have owed their careers to Pepper who opened the door for them, he added.

Colleagues at his own, and rival, company say it doesn’t matter to Pepper whether you are his junior or his boss – he would always be careful to volunteer his time.

Fierce competition is common among the major investment banks in the lending market. You don’t have to look far to find aggression: but there certainly wasn’t any in Pepper’s office.

He had a particularly spiritual relationship with journalists. BofA has strict guidelines on what his bankers can and cannot tell reporters, and David would largely stick to the institution’s script of talking about topics without ever straying into what he was working on.

Journalists must have used every trick in the book to get something specific out of it. He was shrewd enough to avoid any trickery, and reporters rarely ended conversations with much more precise information than at the beginning. But his displays were so polite and humorous that he was often the first person to approach, as reporters always felt a little more motivated to address the story after a reprimand from Pepper.

Pepper had been seriously ill for a year but worked from home in bursts until September. However, in October, his health took a critical turn.

His funeral, which took place last Friday near his home in Sevenoaks, was well attended by loan bankers, lawyers and the long list of borrowers Pepper had dealt with.

BofA has received over 100 letters and emails from clients and other credit bankers on the street, offering their condolences. “It shows how important he was to the market and how many people in the industry, including competitors, clients and lawyers, cared about him,” Tannenbaum said.

A message from a Turkish customer read: “He was a very appreciated, honest and caring man. It is an honor to have met him.

A Turkish bank treasurer wrote: “David has touched generations of Turkish bankers and we feel lucky and privileged to have worked with him, shared his knowledge and experiences over the years. Without him, the Turkish loan markets would never have taken their present form and his influence on us is still there. May he rest in peace.”

Pepper is survived by his wife Amanda and daughters Amelia and Zara. They visited BofA’s offices and collected his gravestones, which commemorate his work in the loan market.

His family suggested that anyone wishing to make a donation in his memory do so to the Hospice in the Weald, in appreciation of the care he received there, or to follow this link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/amanda-pepper1.

We offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

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