Société Générale has hired a global head of flow foreign exchange sales as the bank moves to try and increase interest in the business, traditionally dominated by corporate clients, from institutions that have hitherto focussed on the beleaguered credit and debt markets.

Michael Burton had been the head of FX sales for Europe and Asia at Lehman Brothers in London for four years. The new role is aimed at expanding the institutional clients for that business including pension funds, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds. He is understood to have left been at Lehman Brothers for a short time after the team was moved to Japanese bank Nomura, which bought the bulk of Lehman's business in Europe.