Bache Unveils Reorganization of Its Structure

Prudential-Bache Securities said Monday that it is reorganizing its corporate structure, naming George Ball chairman of its holding company, Prudential Capital Investment Services, as well as Prudential-Bache Securities Inc., effective Jan. 1.

Ball will remain as chief executive of both, the New York company said.

Ball succeeds Chairman Harry Jacobs Jr., who is retiring but will remain active in the business at Prudential-Bache Securities.

Prudential Capital Investment Services, a financial services and brokerage firm, is a subsidiary of Prudential Insurance Co. of America.

The company said James T. Barton will succeed Ball as president of Prudential Capital and Prudential-Bache Securities. Barton, who joined Prudential-Bache Securities in 1966 as an account executive, was named executive vice president in 1979 and became head of the company’s International and Commodities Group in 1982.

Prudential-Bache Securities also announced the formation of a new Merchant Banking Group, which will consist of Prudential-Bache Corporate Finance, P-B Trade Finance, Prudential Global Funding, PruCapital and a newly formed P-B Investment Management Group.

It said H. Virgil Sherrill, who is retiring as vice chairman of Prudential-Bache, will head the Merchant Banking Group until a permanent appointment is made.

Prudential also named James Gahan as president of its newly formed Capital Markets Group, which includes all equity and fixed-income trading, institutional sales of both debt and equity securities and a number of other functions.

The changes “recognize reality in the form of retirements, provide reward through promotions for a number of top caliber management people and accomplish a reordering in the sense of better serving the firm and its clients,” Ball said in a prepared statement.