UBS Hires a Senior Barclays Executive

UBS of Switzerland said on Friday that it had hired one of Barclays’ most senior bankers in the United States, Ros Stephenson, contributing to a stream of departures from the British firm.

Ms. Stephenson will become the global chairwoman of corporate client solutions, UBS’s name for investment banking activities like mergers advisory, industry coverage and financing. She will also lead corporate client solutions in the Americas.

In her new role, which begins in September, she will solidify her position as one of the most prominent women investment bankers on Wall Street.

Her departure from Barclays is the latest of a senior executive in recent years, as the British firm grapples with pressure to shrink its size and ambitions, and which in turn have also crimped pay. Earlier this week, Hugh E. McGee III, the head of Barclays’ business in the United States and one of its top deal makers, left the firm.

Both Ms. Stephenson and Mr. McGee were veterans of Lehman Brothers who joined Barclays when it acquired their ailing employer’s American investment banking operations during the financial crisis. They were part of a team responsible for building up the British firm into a formidable Wall Street presence.

While at Lehman, Ms. Stephenson founded the firm’s financial sponsors team, which catered to private equity firms like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. She rose up the leadership ranks both there and then at Barclays, where she served as co-head of corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions from 2008 to 2013. Her most recent role was chairman of the investment banking division.

But Barclays has been moving to scale back its investment banking amid tougher new regulations and fallout from a rates-fixing scandal that led to the departure of Robert E. Diamond as chief executive. The firm is expected to reveal its outlines for its newly reorganized investment bank next week.

The prospect of more red tape and continued battles over pay have worn down a number of senior Barclays bankers, some of whom ultimately decided to leave.

A Barclays spokeswoman said in a statement: “We wish Ros the best in her new management role.”

Meanwhile, UBS has been rebuilding its investment bank after years of turmoil. Over recent years, it has hired a number of prominent leaders, including Robert J. McCann, the chief executive of its Americas operations; Andrea Orcel, a former Merrill Lynch executive who now leads firm’s investment bank; and Laurence Grafstein, a longtime deal maker who co-heads mergers advisory in the Americas.

At UBS, Ms. Stephenson will report to Mr. Orcel. As at Barclays, her responsibilities will include catering to the firm’s biggest clients and helping bring in new ones.

“Ros is an extremely accomplished, market-leading professional with extensive client and transaction experience,” Mr. Orcel said in a statement. “Her insights and expertise will be invaluable to us as we continue to grow the CCS business, particularly in the Americas.”

Ms. Stephenson added in a statement: “I am excited to be joining a world class organization. As the investment banking landscape continues to evolve, I believe that the firm’s global reach and areas of expertise, coupled with dedication to its client centric model, position UBS as a leading player in global financial services.”