Top Goldman Australia banker moves to London

SYDNEY, Feb 1 (Reuters) Keith Tuffley, head of investment banking at Australia's Goldman Sachs JBWere, is moving to London to parent group Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s industrials and natural resources investment banking team.

Sydney-based James McMurdo and Christian Johnston in Melbourne have been appointed co-heads of investment banking at Goldman Sachs JBWere, the bank said in a statement Thursday.

Tuffley has headed the investment banking team since the merger of Goldman Sachs Australia and JBWere in 2003.

Goldman Sachs JBWere was the top adviser on completed Australian deals in 2006 with US.9 billion, according to Dealogic. It was followed by Macquarie Bank and UBS .

McMurdo led the bank's Australian financial sponsors group for the past two years.

Johnston, who headed the bank's consumer and retail group, became a managing director in 2005.

Global investment banks have been poaching bankers with expertise in mining to offices in New York and London as they try to keep up with a surge in mergers and acquisitions, driven by record commodity prices.

Reuters SBA VP0635