Sergio Lires Rial, a former managing board member at ABN Amro, has joined Bear Stearns as co-head of its investment banking division after the Dutch bank closed some US businesses last month.

ABN Amro ended weeks of speculation and closed its US domestic equities and corporate finance businesses with the loss of over 550 jobs in March. Rial had been at ABN Amro for 18 years, and the Brazilian became one of the first foreign managing board members at the Dutch bank in May 2000. He was responsible for ABN's capital markets, fixed income and treasury business, global equities, private equity, structured finance and transactional services.