Investment Banks Shuffle Senior Rainmakers To Asia

I have mentioned several times in my blog that if you are dedicated to investment banking, you should be prepared to relocate. New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong are the four major cities you must be acquainted to. Today I am adding Singapore to the list.

Recently, I read an article from Dow Jones with a headline of Investment Banks Shuffle Senior Rainmakers To Asia. This is a norm, in my experience, Asia is a booming region, a heaven for those who are hungry for money and want to make the best out of their IB skills. I can’t give you the actual link to read the article as it is for paid subscribers only. However I have extracted some facts for your reference.

Investment Banks Shuffle Senior Rainmakers To Asia
11 April 2008 - Dow Jones International News

Investment banks are shipping some of their best talent to Asia, following the money as deals are drying up elsewhere, to bulk up their business in a booming region…

In recent months, global financial institutions from Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase to Deutsche Bank have transplanted heavyweight rainmakers to Asia….

Asia, excluding Japan, already accounts for more than 15% of revenues for many investment banks…

"Colleagues from overseas are increasingly interested in transferring to the region," said Robert Morse, Asia Pacific chief executive officer for Citi’s Institutional Clients Group…

Goldman Sachs will soon move a number of senior staff in to key regional roles in Hong Kong and Singapore, according to people familiar with the situation.

Last week, Morgan Stanley transferred star M&A banker Scott Matlock to Hong Kong from London to fill a newly-created role as chairman of Asian M&A. The bank also recently tapped its global asset management head Owen Thomas to become its Asia chief executive...

JP Morgan transplanted 22-year New York veteran banker Winthrop Watson to Hong Kong a few months ago, also in a newly created role as head of Asia-Pacific High Grade DCM; and Credit Suisse appointed European structured derivatives sales head Osama Abbasi to head the newly created position of global securities for non-Japan Asia from Hong Kong…

"With the downturn in the West, we have the opportunity to bring out good people to build up our Asian business, and often, we create new titles for them," said one person at a U.S. investment house. "Increasingly, many bankers in the U.S. and Europe feel that Asian experience would be good for their career path."

Moving Global Heads to the Region

In some cases, banks have even started basing their global heads in the region. Last year, Barclays Capital moved Ivan Ritossa, its global head of foreign exchange, from the U.K. to Singapore, while Citigroup recently relocated Ted Kuh to Hong Kong from London to head the Asian consumer and healthcare group while keeping his title as co-head of global retail. Also retaining his global title, Deutsche Bank's global equity trading head Noreddine Sebti has moved to Hong Kong from New York to head Asian equities...

"Relocating a global head to Asia ensures our center of risk management is aligned accordingly, while recognizing the changing polarity of global equity markets and the growing importance of the region," Deutsche Bank's Global Head of Equities Yassine Bouhara explained...

The defection to the region comes as bankers with Asian experience take on greater prominence within their firms. Last year, Credit Suisse's Asia-Pacific head, Paul Calello, was put at the helm of the bank's overall investment banking unit. Similarly, Goldman Sachs Asia Chairman Michael Evans was recently made global vice chairman…

Savills PLC, a real estate brokerage which works with major banks to relocate employees, noted that some corporate clients had as many as 100 to 130 moves to Hong Kong last year alone, about 30% more from 2006.

Growing Prominence

Many investment banks posted record revenues out of Asia last year even as their U.S. operations suffered...

"The rise of Asian global champions in recent years has underpinned record levels for M&A and capital markets activity in Asia Pacific - in 2007 the world's largest announced M&A transaction and two of the five largest IPOs globally were from the Asia Pacific region," said Citigroup's Morse….

Even star investors and not just bankers are feeling the need to relocate. Despite the recent market volatility in Asia, hedge fund guru Jim Rogers, cofounder of George Soros' famed Quantum Fund, is joining the rush, leaving New York for Singapore.


Investment Banking Career

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