Icelandic investment bank Straumur has hired a banker from the financial arm of US conglomerate General Electric to run its mid-market debt operations in London, as investors shift their focus away from buyouts requiring larger financings in the wake of the credit crisis.

Andrew Bernhardt, who joins after two years with GE Commercial as an executive director in leveraged finance, will spearhead the development of Straumur's mid-market buyout financing business throughout northern and central Europe.