UBS has made over 20 senior hires to its embattled fixed-income, currencies and commodities division, led by the former European co-head of FICC at Merrill Lynch, in one of the most emphatic signs yet of the Swiss investment bank’s commitment to rebuilding its trading and sales team and recapturing profits.

In an internal memo to staff yesterday Carsten Kengeter and Jeff Mayer, global co-heads of FICC, said the series of hires have been made globally across four core FICC areas - macro, credit, emerging markets and distribution - with the most senior being that of Dimitri Psyllidis, who has been appointed global head of macro group in London.