Ex-Citi Exec To Start Hedge Fund: Report

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Tom Maheras, a former high-ranking Citigroup (C Quote) executive who oversaw billions in fixed income losses before leaving the bank in 2007, is starting a hedge fund, according to a report Wednesday by CNBC reporter Charles Gasparino.

Gasparino reported Maheras, who sits on the board of Discover Financial Services (DFS Quote) has raised nearly $100 million for his new venture. Maheras could not be reached.

Maheras's move resembles that of Zoe Cruz, the former Morgan Stanley(MS Quote) president who was ousted in 2007 following $3.7 billion in fixed-income losses in a unit she supervised. Cruz has since raised $200 million and is hiring employees to work at her fund, called Voras Capital Management, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal last month.

Signs of strength in the hedge fund business would be good news for banks that service the industry, including not only Citi and Morgan Stanley but Goldman Sachs (GS Quote), JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote) and Bank of America (BAC Quote).

Goldman published a report Wednesday indicating it is bullish on hedge funds, including publicly-traded Och-Ziff Capital Management Group (OZM Quote).

-- Written by Dan Freed in New York.