DB Consumers on the upswing?

This article sure makes it seem so.

Deutsche Bank Securities has snapped up one of the top consumer-products bankers on Wall Street as it competes with rivals to build up its consumer practice.

Deutsche Bank hired Bruce Evans, an 18-year veteran of Goldman Sachs who became a managing director in 2000 and was recently considered for partner. Evans will join Deutsche’s merger advisory group reporting to head of M&A Jim Stynes.

Evans was one of the founding members of Goldman’s consumer and retail group when it was formed in 2002. Before that, he won the support of the firm’s former head of M&A, Mac Heller. Evans’ past clients include Procter & Gamble.

One of the co-heads of Deutsche’s consumer group also hails from Goldman: Keith Wargo, who joined Deutsche in 2004 and was promoted to co-head of consumer investment banking in the Americas a year ago. Deutsche has been building up its consumer expertise over the past year, most notably through the hire of former JP Morgan managing director Charles McIlvaine, who co-heads the Americas consumer group alongside Wargo.

The consumer and retail sectors have generated many new hires. Greenhill this year hired from Morgan Stanley consumer banker Richard Steinman. Last July, a group of senior bankers formed Centerview Partners, a boutique focused on deals in the consumer-goods and retail sectors. The boutique was formed by Blair Effron, former vice-chairman of investment banking at UBS, Stephen Crawford, ex co-president of Morgan Stanley, and ex-Dresdner Kleinwort manager Robert Pruzan. Centerview last month hired Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz partner Adam Chinn.

Also last year, Lehman Brothers hired former Goldman Sachs partner and retail specialist Joseph Gatto and former Credit Suisse retail expert Andrew Taussig.

The sector produced only about $150bn (€112bn) in deal volume in 2006 but is expected to produce more this year.

Consumer products is not the only sector in which Deutsche is staffing up. The bank also hired former Banc of America Securities equity capital markets veteran Jeff Rosichan as vice chair of its US equity capital markets.