SG, the investment banking arm of Société Générale, has launched an early foray into the bonus recruitment round by hiring eight analysts and four sales staff in its London and Paris offices.

The biggest coup for SG, which saw a handful of analysts defect at the end of last year, is the appointment of Anthony de Larrinaga from WestLB Panmure, where he was head of media coverage. De Larrinaga has been consistently ranked among the top few media analysts in the past few years, well ahead of WestLB's overall ranking for research. In addition, Trevor Moss has joined from Flemings to head insurance research and Andrew Archer has come from Baring Asset Management to cover the integrated oils sector. The three appointments in London follow hot on the heels of the appointment of three analysts from Credit Lyonnais to cover transport and German mid-caps, as well as Beth Richardson from Rabobank to cover the European drinks sector. Didier Valet has also joined from Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in the Paris office to cover European banks.