Barclays Capital chief Bob Diamond finally bagged Alberto Francioni, the former head of fixed income at ABN Amro last week, in a move designed to strengthen the bank's European sales effort.

Francioni, who has been out of the market since last June, when he suddenly and unexpectedly parted company with ABN, is understood to have been in talks with a number of houses, including Salomon Smith Barney and Commerzbank.