2 top trading specialists at Barclays have quit to launch a startup

A pair of senior Barclays credit trading specialists are teaming up to launch a fintech venture.

Alex Reyfman, Barclays' global head of algorithmic credit trading, and Michael Wong, a Barclays director in London, are leaving the UK bank, according to people familiar with the matter.

Reyfman managed a Barclays group that focused on corporate credit derivatives and corporate bonds, according to a LinkedIn page. Wong was a director at Barclays in London, and "launched the first fully automated market-marker of credit default swap indices, two years ahead of the competition," according to a LinkedIn profile. They both previously worked at AQR Capital.

It isn't clear what Reyfman and Wong will be doing together.

"We are evaluating a number of different things," Reyfman told Business Insider.

He declined to comment further on the plans, but a Twitter account in his name describes him as a "big-bank escapee" and "fintech startup cofounder."

It wouldn't be the first fintech spin-out from Barclays. Ousted CEO Antony Jenkins is prepping his own startup, while Rich Ricci, the former CEO of the investment banking unit at Barclays Capital, is also enthusiastic about fintech.

Meanwhile, Simon Taylor, the Barclays executive who helped lead the bank's efforts on blockchain, is leaving the bank to join startup fintech consultancy 11:FS.

A number of bond traders and salespeople have also recently launched their own firms. Business Insider reported earlier this week that Mehra "Cactus" Raazi, a well-known bond specialist, is setting up his own fintech startup.