Jefferies & Company has hired six executives in prime brokerage, all from Bank of America.

The third was to focus on core businesses like large capital markets, prime brokerage and trading.

And, as a hedge fund gains investors, the bank's institutional brokerage business, known as prime brokerage, is likely to grow.

The main business of servicing hedge funds is called prime brokerage.

Glen Dailey, head of prime brokerage, said the hedge fund hotel business was too expensive to build at Bank of America.

In a statement yesterday, Bank of America said that its monitoring of its prime brokerage account with Allfirst "performed properly."

"Every prime broker has taken note," said the head of prime brokerage at a top Wall Street firm.

If prime brokerage is an increasingly commoditized product, its significance in generating business is not.

"There were rumors that prime brokerage and commodities took huge losses."

The firm provides mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting services, asset management, and prime brokerage to its clients, which include corporations, governments and individuals.