Asia is where the action is. Decoupled or not, the credit crunch and ailing US economy means that for the investment banks the region’s emerging economies will be of increasing importance, both from a deal flow and also from a markets perspective.
Note the latest move by Deutsche Bank. Largely unscathed relative to its peers, the German bank is moving its global head of equity and derivatives trading from New York to Hong Kong, the first time a large investment bank has sited such a senior trading figure in the region.
The relocation of Noreddine Sebti, who will run the bank’s Asian equities operations on top of his global responsibilities, reflects the rapid growth of Deutsche’s business in Asia, expected to overtake Europe in equity trading for the bank this year – but also the need to have senior figures in the region to deal with the growing importance of Asia’s sovereign wealth funds.
It also means that those used to having all senior bods on hand in NY may have to get used to calling east for authorisation.
Related links
Deutsche moves top trading post to HK – FT.com