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BANKING
EMPLOYERS
JON BRAUN, DEREK LOOSVELT
and the staff of Vault
vault
2009
PACIFIC
E M P LOY E R S
Top
BANKING
EDITION
EMPLOYERS
BANKING
Customized for: Muhammed Carim (mc650@cam.ac.uk) University of University of Cambridge, Judge Business School Online Career Library
All information in this book is subject to change without notice. Vault makes no claims as to
the accuracy and reliability of the information contained within and disclaims all warranties.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of
Vault.com Inc.
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of Vault.com Inc.
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, contact Vault.com
Inc., 75 Varick St, 8th Fl, New York, NY 10013, (212) 366-4212.
ISBN 13 : 1-58131-659-3
ISBN 10 : 978-1-58131-659-9
Printed in India
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Along the way, numerous people helped out in all sorts of ways on this guide,
and we are deeply grateful to each and every one of them.
Thanks to everyone at Vault, Vault Asia, Vault India and Vault Europe for all of
their hard work in the editorial, production and marketing stages, as well as the
Customized for: Muhammed Carim (mc650@cam.ac.uk) University of University of Cambridge, Judge Business School Online Career Library
journalists who helped write and compile the profiles. A special thank you goes
out to Robin Ngai, Evan Kelsay, Christy Wang, Nick Ober, Mary Sotomayor,
Asha Majithia and Preeti Singh.
We are also extremely grateful to all the staff members in graduate recruitment,
corporate communications, human resources and other departments at firms
around the world who contributed their input and feedback. We would like to
thank you for your patience during the editorial process and for getting back to
us promptly on all those tight deadlines.
Finally, we would like to thank the many financial professionals who took time
out of their busy schedules to complete our survey, as well as those who were
interviewed or answered questions we had.
Customized for: Muhammed Carim (mc650@cam.ac.uk) University of University of Cambridge, Judge Business School Online Career Library
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 1
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EMPLOYER PROFILES 15
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Asia Pacific region.
Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • Asia Pacific Edition
Table of Contents
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Introduction
Other developments in the region have also led banks to focus on the Asia
Pacific region. In Japan, gradual deregulation has led many North
American and European-based banks to invest in operations in Japan with
the hope of winning market share from the historically dominant Japanese
firms. Because the boom in the region has created a new class of
homegrown millionaires and billionaires, many of the world’s leading
banks have scrambled to build their private banking operations in the Asia
Pacific region in order to be able to better serve these potential clients.
All of this frenzied banking activity in the region means that while banks
affected by the meltdown of the subprime markets in 2007 are laying off
employees or issuing hiring freezes in Europe and North America, those
same banks are still investing in growth in the Asia Pacific region.
Opportunities for success in a banking career have never been higher in the
region than they are now.
We are pleased to present this first edition of the Vault Guide to the Top
Banking Employers (Asia Pacific Edition), covering both Asia Pacific-
based banking firms and the Asia Pacific operations of global banks
headquartered in North America and Europe. For the purposes of this
guide, we have defined Asia Pacific as the (very large) region of the world
stretching from India to Australasia, including Southeast Asia, China, Japan
and South Korea.
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Asia Pacific region.
Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
Vault has profiled 60 of the top banking employers throughout Asia Pacific.
The profiles in our guide are based on research and extensive feedback from
hundreds of working banking professionals—talking about everything from
company culture to compensation, and travel schedules to community
service. The guide covers a range of employers, from bulge bracket
investment banks to regional retail-focused banks.
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In spring 2007, Vault established its first Asian office in Hong Kong, with
an office in Mumbai, India, which followed in 2008. We have also
launched several region-specific web sites: Vault India (www.vault.co.in),
Vault China (www.vault.com.cn), Vault Australia (au.vault.com) and an
umbrella Vault Asia site (asia.vault.com). These sites are dedicated to
providing objective, insider information about top employers and career
paths in each region.
We are excited about this first annual edition of the Vault Guide to the Top
Banking Employers (Asia Pacific Edition), and hope it will be of great value
to current and future banking professionals in Asia Pacific.
Vault Editors
E-mail: editors@vault.com
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
If you’re wondering how our entries are organized, read on. Here’s a handy
guide to the information you’ll find packed into each firm profile in this
book.
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Firm Facts
Locations:
A listing of the firm’s offices in the Asia Pacific region. For some firms,
cities are included. Countries are typically not specified unless the location
is uncommon, or unless there are many offices located in a particular
country.
Departments/Businesses:
Good points and, shall we say, less positive points of the firm, as derived
from employee interviews and surveys, as well as other research. Pluses
and minuses are perceptions based on surveys, research and interviews, and
are not based on statistics.
Employment Contact:
The person, address or web site that the firm identifies as the best place to
send resumes, or the appropriate contact to answer questions about the
recruitment process. Sometimes more than one contact is given.
The Stats
Employer Type:
Ticker Symbol:
The stock ticker symbol for a public company, as well as the exchange on
which the company’s stock is traded.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
The name and title of the leader(s) of the firm, or of the firm’s banking
business.
Employees:
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Revenue/Financial Statistics:
The revenue the firm generated in the specified fiscal year, as well as any
other financial data such as total assets. Some firms do not disclose this
information; numbers from the most recent year (if available) are included.
The Profiles
The profiles are divided into three sections: The Scoop, Getting Hired and
Our Survey Says.
The Scoop:
Getting Hired:
Qualifications the firm looks for in new employees, tips on getting hired
and other notable aspects of the hiring process, as well as information on
applying for positions or internships.
Actual quotes from surveys and interviews with current employees of the
firm on topics such as firm culture, feedback, hours, travel requirements,
pay, training and more. Profiles of some firms do not include an Our
Survey Says section.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
Capital raising
China
Consider the fight for the right to handle the IPO of one Chinese state-
owned bank, China Construction Bank (CCB) in 2005. While pitching for
a piece of the CCB offering pie, J.P. Morgan invited former U.S. Secretary
of State Henry Kissinger to accompany William Harrison, Jr., the chairman
of the board at JPMorgan Chase, to meet with the then-president of CCB,
Zhang Enzhao. Deutsche Bank recruited German Chancellor Gerhard
Schröder to write a letter to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in support of the
bank’s bid. Henry Paulson of Goldman Sachs and Stanley O’Neal of
Merrill Lynch (CEOs at the time), as well as CEO John Mack of Morgan
Stanley, each made trips to China to help close the deal. As for Citigroup,
the bank employed their chairman and former U.S. Treasury Secretary
Robert Rubin, then-CEO Charles Prince, and then-Vice Chairman Stanley
Fischer (a former International Monetary Fund official) to pitch in.
Despite the use of heavy hitters, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup,
J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank were left out of the lead bookrunner
positions. The winners of this financial beauty pageant were Morgan
Stanley, Credit Suisse and China International Capital Corp. (CICC), who
shared the grand prize: USD$175 million in IPO fees, based on a standard
3.5 percent commission. Considering the large number of SOEs who have
yet to file for an IPO, this market really is a goldmine for investment
bankers—and probably for investors as well.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
Many of the record-breaking IPOs in the last few years have been those of
Asian firms tapping the global financial markets for capital. The most
spectacular and newsworthy IPOs involved public offerings of state-owned
banks in China. In October 2005, CCB, the country’s third-largest bank,
raised USD$8 billion on the Hong Kong market. The IPO was China’s
largest in history at the time. In May 2006, Bank of China went public in
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The headlines in Asian equity markets have in recent years been dominated
by the hugely successful IPOs of Chinese SOEs. One must realize that
currently only the very largest, most well known and most well connected
firms (almost always SOEs) have been listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen
exchanges. For investment bankers, this is the place where big
underwriting fees will be made, since many of these massive SOEs choose
to list both domestically and internationally. The vast majority of profitable
mid-sized and highly promising small enterprises do not so far have access
to the capital markets in China. Many instead opt to use offshore structures
to list in Hong Kong, Singapore or New York to access equity capital. For
the medium- to long-term, China offers a wealth of opportunities for
investment bankers to market their services.
India
Global banks have also seen rapid growth in non-front office service centers
located in tech centers like Hyderabad and Bangalore. These service centers
support both the firms’ Asia operations in Hong Kong and Singapore and
the operations in New York and London. However, as Indian banks
transform into competitive institutions and invest more money into hiring
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
India has also had its share of giant IPOs. The Indian real estate company
DLF Limited went public in July 2007 on the National Stock Exchange of
India and the Bombay Stock Exchange, raising USD$2.25 billion—the
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Japan
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
securities houses are able to tap foreign institutional investors to fill the
orders. Additional opportunities for U.S. and European securities firms in
Japan can be found in their existing client base of private equity and venture
capital firms, which have led restructuring deals and funded early-stage
companies.
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This outward direct investment has been most prominent among Chinese
companies. China’s outward direct investment increased from USD$3
billion in 2003 to USD$16 billion in 2006. Many Chinese firms are using
their deep pockets to secure supply agreements and acquire sources for raw
materials and commodities, and to purchase global brands, international
distribution networks and technology. A large part of the drive is to find
sources of hydrocarbons and metals to help fuel the growth of the Chinese
economic engine for the long haul. Many of China’s well known brand-
name companies, such as Lenovo, China Mobile, Sinopec, CNOOC,
PetroChina, BaoSteel, TCL Corporation, Huawei, Nanjing Auto and
Chalco, have been aggressive in acquisitions to increase their global
footprints. Since many of these brands are not known to consumers
internationally, Chinese firms have purchased or attempted to buy
companies with global brand names, including IBM, Maytag, Siemens, MG
Rover and Thomson/RCA. In perhaps the biggest announcement, Lenovo
announced its intention to purchase Packard Bell in 2007. Taiwanese firm
BenQ also used its acquisition of Siemens’ mobile phone business to break
into the European market.
Indian firms are becoming major M&A players as well. While in China,
large IPOs have been the biggest headlines, in India, large M&A deals have
grabbed the attention as cash-rich Indian firms look for ways to invest their
capital. Because of India’s incredible size and scale, as well as several
years of strong profits in the services and steel industries, many Indian
companies are on acquisition sprees. Topping the list is Lakshmi Mittal’s
USD$33 billion acquisition of Luxembourg-based steel company Arcelor.
After the 2006 merger, Arcelor Mittal became the world’s biggest steel
company. Another significant deal involved Hindalco, a large Indian
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
aluminum producer that took over Canada’s Novelis for around USD$6
billion in 2007. The Tata Group has been another active buyer in the
outbound M&A market. Major Tata Group deals include Tata Steel’s
USD$12.2 billion takeover of Anglo-Dutch group Corus in 2006, Tata
Steel’s USD$289 million acquisition of Singapore’s NatSteel in 2005, and
Tata Coffee’s 2006 acquisition of U.S.-based Eight O’Clock Coffee
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The results of these acquisitions and mergers with North American and
European-branded firms have not always been successful. However,
investing and global expansion for Asian companies is a growing trend, and
this trend is expected to continue.
The asset acquirers are becoming more global in scale and international in
scope. Large private equity and hedge fund investors are scouring the globe
looking for opportunities in India, China, Japan and South Korea and
elsewhere in Asia. Global companies such as ExxonMobil, Citigroup,
HSBC, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, IBM, Oracle, Google, Motorola,
Hewlett-Packard, Ericsson and many more are all proactive acquirers
globally.
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Introduction
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Introduction
Over the last few years, private banks and private banking arms of global
banks have expanded frenetically, looking to capitalize on the growth
potential of Asia. Some of the largest firms offering private banking
services in Asia include Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P.
Morgan and UBS, and many others are getting in on the act. However, as
concerns about write-downs from exposure to subprime have many
investors understandably nervous, private banks have been trying to soothe
the anxieties of their clients. Still, for those sitting comfortably in the lap
of luxury and those recently joining the ranks across Asia, private banking
continues to reach out.
The global economy has been hit hard by a clear downswing over the past
couple of years, but things seem to be looking up in the Asia Pacific region,
particularly in commercial and retail banking. According to a 2008 report
from global industry observer Research and Markets, “the crisis in the inter-
bank market as well as the soaring prices of oil and other raw materials has
tended to obscure several other important trends.” Across much of Asia,
commercial banks have been booming, particularly in terms of lending and
credit.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
China
In Mainland China, things are still tightly controlled by the “big four” state-
owned commercial banks: the Bank of China (BOC), China Construction
Bank (CCB), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and
Agricultural Bank of China (ABC). Cited in a recent joint study conducted
by KPMG and Reuters, the China Regulatory Banking Commission
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reported that the big four controlled more than half of China’s total banking
assets as of late 2006. However, despite heavy regulations, a number of
foreign banks have made inroads into China over the years, applying to
incorporate locally and increasing their foothold in the country as China
begins to open its arms to financial outsiders.
India
Public-sector (government-owned) banks still rule the roost in India,
dominating the market with around 75 percent of assets. However, foreign
banks and private Indian banks are beginning to grab a bigger piece of the
pie—though there are a number of hoops to jump through, as Reserve Bank
of India (RBI, the Indian government’s central bank) approval must be
granted for all foreign investment in the banking and financial services
industry. According to March 2007 figures from RBI, foreign banks still
only accounted for 8 percent of total commercial banking assets. This
figure is expected to rise rapidly if India decides to allow further foreign
acquisition of local banks. Global banks are pouncing on opportunities in
India, including Citigroup, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, Bank of
America, BNP Paribas and DBS Bank, among others. Current regulations
are to be reviewed and reevaluated by RBI in April 2009 under the second
phase of a process started in 2005, and many global commercial and retail
banks are eagerly awaiting word.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
Japan
Though the subprime crisis has slammed banks worldwide, the three largest
banks in Japan—Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui—have
appeared to be less affected by subprime losses compared to the rest of the
world’s financial institutions. Japanese banks certainly booked losses in
2007 (losses for the top four totaled around JPY 819 billion for the fiscal
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year ending March 31, 2008), but the impact wasn’t nearly as severe as
most of their global contemporaries. For local banks, Japan continues to
keep itself somewhat segregated from the rest of the financial world by
resisting foreign takeovers of its domestic firms, and this doesn’t appear
likely to change anytime soon.
Australia
Australian banking has undergone a bit of a shake-up in 2008. Though
there are a number of competitors, the banking industry is still largely
controlled by the “big four” banks—Commonwealth Bank, National
Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ. The big four are not allowed to take
each other over or merge with each other under the “four pillars”
government policy. However, a significant buyout took place in 2008 as
Westpac took over Australia’s No. 5 bank, St.George Bank, in a deal valued
at AUD$18.5 billion. The deal, which would make Westpac Australia’s
largest lender by market value, is still awaiting approval by shareholders,
competitors, regulators and the Australian government. If approved, the
Australian banking landscape will certainly be reshaped.
Southeast Asia
In Singapore, commercial banking is one of the country’s driving forces.
The top three Singaporean-based banks are DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese
Banking Corporation (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB).
However, Singapore also has a load of competition in the banking sector,
with more than 100 foreign commercial banks operating. Vietnam is
another rapidly growing region for global banks. Banking is still heavily
state-controlled, but as the government is opening to more foreign
investment in firms, banks such as HSBC are rushing in to grab a piece of
the pie.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Introduction
oppose Islamic values. Indonesia and Malaysia, two countries with large
Muslim populations, have rapidly developing Islamic banking industries—
and much of Southeast Asia is following suit.
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PR OFILES
E M PLOYE R
EMPLOYERS
BANKING
Agricultural Bank of China
69 Jianguomennei Ave.
THE STATS
Doncheng District
Beijing, 100005 Employer Type: Government-owned
China Company
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Agricultural Bank of China
THE SCOOP
Farmers market
The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) was established in 1979 as a
resource to serve the farming population of China, nearly 800 million
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people at the time. Over the past 30 years, the rural bank has grown to
become one of the “big four” Chinese banks along with the Bank of China,
China Construction Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China. ABC is the only one of the four state-owned banks that is not
publicly traded, but with assets of approximately RMB 600 billion and
447,519 employees, it ranks second in size among the four giants. It also
ranks No. 223 on the 2008 list of Fortune’s Global 500.
Recently, the company has come across harder times and had to rely on
wealth funds to bail them out of bad loans totaling nearly USD$100 billion.
The Chinese government has spent USD$500 billion recapitalizing banks
altogether. In January 2008, rumors circulated that the China Investment
Corporation (CIC), a state-owned investment firm, would pump USD$47
billion into ABC in the coming year. Federal banking regulators placed a
loan cap on the bank in order to limit its descent into debt in 2008. The
bank needed a cash infusion to offset its loan baggage before debuting its
public stock, which could hit the markets at any time over the next few
years. In August 2008, a subsidiary of CIC came through with a USD$20
billion capital injection.
Despite fears about its debt, ABC’s profits have been rising year by year. In
2007, operating profit rose over 65 percent to more than RMB 96 billion,
backed by rapidly increasing intermediary business, net interest, and fee
and commission incomes.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Agricultural Bank of China
Even if the loans were paid back in full, the interest collected would
generally not be high enough to cover the cost of traveling to the small
villages that the bank services. However, higher interest rates would seem
to be a further detractor to sign up for the loans in the first place. The
bank’s agricultural loans were originally meant to stimulate the farming
economy, not to boost the coffers of the bank. With the debut of an IPO
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looming on the horizon, ABC will have to make some tough decisions on
how it will conduct these loans in the future.
French allies
Though ABC may have earned a bad rap due to its NPLs, it still has the
cachet to attract power investors like French banking giant Crédit Agricole.
In late March 2007, Crédit Agricole announced that it planned to expand its
business into Asia by launching a fund management joint venture with
ABC. The joint venture will be divided equally into thirds, with the
portions owned by ABC, Crédit Agricole and the Aluminum Corporation of
China (Chalco). Investing in money management in China was a big trend
in international banking in 2007, driven by historic rises in assets under
management (approximately USD$110.7 billion) and a 130 percent
increase on the Shanghai Composite Index.
An inside job
ABC received a great deal of unwanted attention in 2007 as it became the
victim of the largest bank robbery in the history of China. Nearly RMB 51
million was stolen by bank insiders—vault managers who were supposed to
be protecting the money that they stole. The perpetrators, Ren Xiaofeng
and Ma Xiangjing, stole the money with the hopes of eventually returning
it after they had made a profit by playing the Chinese lottery. However, the
two managed to squander nearly the entirety of the money, only winning
back about RMB 98,000.
The money was discovered to be missing on April 16, 2007 and the unlucky
bank robbers immediately fled for the coast with the remaining cash. But
with reward money at stake and “Most Wanted” status from China’s Public
Security Ministry, they were apprehended within three days. In August
2007, the two men were sentenced to death by a court in the city of Handan
in Hebei Province.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Agricultural Bank of China
Rosy futures
Though ABC still has its share of problems, things may be looking up for
the rural lender in the coming years. In February 2008, ABC petitioned the
government for funds to repay its loans (40 percent of which were state-
directed). In August, ABC’s wishes came true as Central Huijin Investment
Company (a subsidiary of China Investment Corporation) provided the
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bank with a cash injection of USD $20 billion. In the meantime, aside from
debt, the bank’s numbers are looking good. ABC held 18 percent of the
bank branches in China in 2007 and thus was the top bank for deposit
assets, with savings increasing by 17.3 percent (RMB 700 billion)
throughout the year. Though bad loans still remain, the bank has been able
to eliminate RMB 4.2 billion of debt off its books, boosting profits by 37
percent. The percentage of loans that were unpaid went down a modest 2.7
percent, signaling that there may be the chance of healthy growth for ABC
yet.
GETTING HIRED
Getting in the door to actually become one of those employees may take a little
finesse. For hiring information in Simplified Chinese, go to job.abchina.com.
The firm’s official English site doesn’t include a careers area for prospective
workers.
The bank’s Hong Kong site, however, does have a designated “job
opportunity” section at www.abchina.com.hk/main/job-eng.html with
English listings of open positions. If you’d like to apply, send a resume and
cover letter with salary expectations to recruit@abchina.com.hk.
Alternately, you can send on your information to the bank’s physical
address: Head of Corporate Affairs, Agricultural Bank of China, H.K.
Branch, 23/F, Tower 1, Admiralty Centre, 18 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong.
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ANZ
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
ANZ
THE SCOOP
major ports of commerce spread across the South Pacific islands, China,
East and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S.
With assets of AUD$438 billion as of April 2008 and more than six million
personal, private banking, small business, corporate, institutional and asset
finance accounts, ANZ is one of the four largest banks in Australia.
During this flourishing era in ANZ’s history, it also launched offices and
branches all over the world—in Paris, France; Frankfurt, Germany;
Singapore; Manila, the Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; Hanoi and Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam; Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China; Tonga; and
the Cook Islands.
Today, all these acquisitions and growth have led ANZ to achieve the
worldly status it had been seeking. In 2007, following the acquisition of
financial services giant E*Trade Australia, the bank achieved a leading
global bank ranking on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
ANZ
to continue expansion in the Asia Pacific region in both the short- and long-
term future. Smith had been with HSBC for 29 years and formally took
over for former CEO John McFarlane in October 2007. Smith’s base salary
at ANZ is reported to be AUD$9 million, giving him the distinction of being
the most highly paid executive among Australia’s commercial lenders.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
ANZ
ANZ appointed John Daley, who was formerly serving as ANZ’s head of
margin lending, as the managing director of E*Trade Australia. Daley
replaced Brett Spork, who had served as chief executive of E*Trade
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GETTING HIRED
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Asia Pacific region.
Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
ANZ
CAREER
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Bank of America
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
LOCATIONS IN www.bankofamerica.com/asiacareers
ASIA PACIFIC or www.bankofamerica.com/careers
Australia • China • Hong Kong •
India • Indonesia • Japan •
Malaysia • Philippines • Singapore
• South Korea • Taiwan • Thailand
LINES OF BUSINESS
Corporate Investment Banking
Global Markets
Global Product Solutions
Global Consumer & Small Business
Banking
Global Technology & Operations
Global Wealth & Investment
Management
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Asia Pacific region.
Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Bank of America
THE SCOOP
Bank of America serves clients in 150 countries, and as of early 2008, the
firm’s client list included 99 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 and 83 percent
of the Global Fortune 500. In February 2008, Bank of America was added
to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the first change to the Dow’s
composition since 2004. The bank’s corporate headquarters is in Charlotte,
North Carolina, but most of its investment banking operations is centered
in its offices in New York City.
Bank of America has had a leading presence throughout Asia for over 60
years, primarily serving U.S. and European multinational corporations with
business interests in Asia, as well as top-tier Asia corporations, financial
institutions and institutional investors. The company’s operations in Asia
are headquartered in Singapore and Hong Kong.
The bank also offers a variety of services in Asia Pacific, including treasury
management (international payments, liquidity management, vendor
financing and multi-currency account services), capital raising (loan
syndications, private placements and asset securitizations) and M&A
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Bank of America
The two companies have also jointly launched four customer programs
including a successful launch of their free ATM withdrawal, remittance
services, a joint credit card venture and a joint leasing venture.
Bank of America was named India’s Best Foreign Bank for 2007, moving
up from second place a year before in a poll conducted by Indian financial
publication The Financial Express in conjunction with Ernst & Young.
Movin’ on up
As Asia’s role has become increasingly more crucial, there has been a
shuffle in top management representing the company on the continent. In
June 2007, the global markets division in Asia got a new leader when Kim
Hong was appointed regional head of the business. Originally from South
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Asia Pacific region.
Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Bank of America
Bank of America also made another recent shift when it appointed Ian
Wong as country executive for China. Wong is situated on the mainland,
primarily in Shanghai, but his new role extends his jurisdiction to Beijing
and Guangzhou. Before his move to Shanghai, Wong was based in
Singapore for Bank of America.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Bank of America
GETTING HIRED
If you would like to apply for experienced positions in Australia, China, Hong
Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, check out www.bankofamerica.com/asiacareers.
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advice articles, employee surveys and other information on top careers in the LIBRARY 29
Asia Pacific region.
Bank of China
1 Fuxingmennei Dajie
THE STATS
Beijing, 100818
China Employer Type: Public Company
Phone: +86-10-6659-6688 Ticker Symbol: BOC (HKSE)
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LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
China www.boc.cn/en/static/index.html
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Bank of China
THE SCOOP
Chinese champion
When Bank of China (BOC) went public on the Hong Kong stock exchange in
June 2006, it raised USD$9.7 billion, the biggest global offering since the debut
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of AT&T Wireless in 2000. The massive numbers far eclipsed many of the
most hyped U.S. IPOs of recent years and increased the already significant buzz
about the rise of China’s financial prominence in the world. Some estimates
showed that at the time BOC went public, approximately one in every six
residents of Hong Kong bought shares of the bank.
Bank of China has roots all the way back to 1912 when Sun Yat-sen, the
provisional president of China, decided that Da Qing Bank should change its
status to a central bank. BOC was established with headquarters in Shanghai.
Only four years later, the government of the northern warlords threatened BOC
to stop redeeming bank notes for silver, but the bank rejected the order, boosting
its credibility as a credit-worthy bank. In 1929, the bank opened its first
overseas branch in London and over the next 20 years greatly expanded its
international presence.
Service center
BOC serves retail and corporate customers, as well as providing treasury
services for financial institutions and individuals which include currency
trading and investment, wealth management, value-secured debt business and
financing services. For its retail customers, the bank offers standard banking
services such as savings deposits and wealth management. It also offers credit
card services with the “Great Wall” card. The bank’s international financial
services include inter-bank lending, insurance, and agent and custodian
services.
Restructuring moves
BOC incorporated its subsidiary, BOC International Holdings, Ltd. (BOCI) in
1998. BOCI was the first state-owned investment bank in China’s history.
BOCI is headquartered in Hong Kong, but in June 2000, it expanded into the
Chinese mainland, opening a representative office in Beijing. BOCI handles
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Bank of China
all of BOC’s investment banking along with equities sales and trading, fixed
income, asset management and investment research. In 2001, Bank of China
merged 10 of its member banks into a subsidiary named Bank of China Hong
Kong Ltd. BOC Hong Kong went public in July 2002, raising USD$2.8
billion.
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In 2008, the January 21 sell-off in the Asian and European markets may
have been a watershed moment in the continuing debate about whether the
U.S. was slowly sinking into a recession. In one day, the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange dropped by 5.4 percent of its total value, proving that Asia was
not at all insulated from the trouble that was quickly spreading in the U.S.
The inevitability of write-downs was said to be largely due to BOC’s CDOs
driving the panic in the Asian markets.
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Bank of China
BOC has been making waves abroad as well as on its home turf. In 2007,
the bank was named by Liverpool-based organization Chinalink as
“Business of the Year.” Chinalink is a U.K. entity that works to support
trade between Britain and China. Chinalink cited BOC’s exemplary service
in aiding Chinese businesses in the U.K. and praised the company for its
involvement in a GBP 867 million financing deal for British Airways in
which it worked with an 11-bank consortium. The award was given out in
February 2008 to coincide with the Chinese New Year.
Loan leaders
BOC is a leader in lending in Asia, ranking second on the Thomson Financial
league tables in the category of mandated loan arrangers in Asia (excluding
Japan and Australia). The only bank to beat BOC as a loan arranger on the
tables was the State Bank of India, reflecting a surge in loan activity from the
Indian market. However, BOC posted strong results, with 60 issues
comprising 5.87 percent of the market share. The bank also ranked fourth on
Thomson’s league tables for Asian bookrunning (excluding Japan and
Australia), working on approximately USD$9 billion worth of deals.
GETTING HIRED
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Asia Pacific region.
Barclays Capital
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Barclays Capital
THE SCOOP
Global reach
Barclays Capital is the investment banking arm of Barclays Bank PLC, a
parent company with more than GBP 1.2 trillion on its balance sheet as of
Customized for: Muhammed Carim (mc650@cam.ac.uk) University of University of Cambridge, Judge Business School Online Career Library
the end of fiscal year 2007. (Other Barclays units include: Barclays Global
Investors, the asset management division; and Barclays Wealth, the wealth
management arm.) Globally, Barclays Capital has offices in 29 countries
and over 16,200 employees; resources it devotes to debt capital market
financing and risk management for sovereign, corporate and institutional
clients. In Asia Pacific, Barclays Capital employs more than 3,500—a
headcount that has grown over 50 percent in the last three years. Offering
global corporations, government organizations and financial institutions
advice in undertaking financing opportunities, Barclays Capital offers
service to both issuer and investor clients, with a focus on the cash and
derivatives markets.
While Barclays Bank PLC traces its roots to 17th-century London, Barclays
Capital grew out of its parent company’s continuing global expansion in the
1980s, and the founding of an investment capital division in 1986 called
BZW Investment Management. Today, Barclays Capital is one of the
world’s leading investment banks, and in recent years has increased the
range of its investment banking activities to taking income from mortgage-
backed securities, equity products, commodities and derivative products
across all asset classes.
Growth spurt
Barclays Capital was created in 1997 to provide financing and risk
management solutions to corporate, government and institutional clients
around the world. Although it’s younger than many of its peers, Barclays
Capital’s relationship with its parent allowed it to grow at an astonishing
rate: today it has offices in 29 countries and over 16,200 employees.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Barclays Capital
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Barclays Capital
Partnering in India
One of Barclays’ Indian partners is the Mumbai-based bank HDFC
(Housing Development Financing Corporation). The two owned an
outsourcing firm called Intelenet Global Services, which was launched in
2004. Both firms had equal ownership of Intelenet until June 2007 when
they sold the BPO services provider to SKR BPO, a joint venture between
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High on tables
Globally a perennial fixed income underwriting powerhouse, Barclays
Capital ranked No. 4 in terms of market share on the global all debt league
tables for the fourth year in a row, according to Dealogic Bondware,
Loanware, MTNWare and Euromoney in July 2008. In addition, the firm
ranked No. 8 in debt, equity and equity-related offering volume for the
second year in a row in 2007, according to Thomson Financial (now
Thomson Reuters).
In Asia, the firm fell a few spots to No. 9 in Asia convertible deal volume,
and ranked No. 8 in the issuance of Japanese Samurai bonds (bonds in yen
issued by non-Japanese companies). The firm’s appearance was due to its
work on just two Samurai deals, worth a total of USD$1.2 billion and 7.1
percent of the market share.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Barclays Capital
GETTING HIRED
Three tracks
Along with internship programs, Barclays Capital offers three levels of
entry to graduates—analyst, associate and quantitative associate.
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Capital interns
For information about graduate recruitment and internship opportunities at
Barclays Capital, check out the campus recruitment section of the firm’s
web site at www.barcap.com/campusrecruitment.
Internships generally last about 10 weeks at both the analyst and associate
levels. To apply for internships, complete the online application form on
the campus recruitment page. The deadline for all summer internships is
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Barclays Capital
Once you’ve completed the online application form, there are also online
reasoning tests. First, you’ll be given a numerical reasoning test. Within 24
hours, you should receive an e-mail letting you know the results. If you
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passed, you’ll be invited to complete the firm’s verbal reasoning test. If you
pass screening and successfully complete both tests within five days, you
will proceed to the next part of the recruitment process: a phone interview.
If you impress, you’ll be asked along to a final-round assessment, where
you’ll meet senior management and show off your strengths and skills
though individual and team exercises.
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Asia Pacific region.
The Blackstone Group
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
The Blackstone Group
THE SCOOP
M&A firm they called The Blackstone Group. Their first office operated
with a staff of four, but Peterson and Schwarzman were convinced their
singular approach would become a force in the business world. First of all,
they decided to invest only in friendly mergers and acquisitions—a bold
decision in the hostile takeover-happy environment of the 1980s. They also
insisted that their own firm always invest large chunks of its own funds in
the investments it made, and that their firm would strive to remain free of
conflicts of interest, especially those born of competing business divisions
within larger companies.
As Blackstone grew, its founders gained reputations for holding its reins a
little too closely—several partners departed under bitter clouds. But it’s
clear that Peterson and Schwarzman (who has earned the nickname “The
King of Wall Street”) have built a strong business. Today, Blackstone has
839 employees in 14 offices around the world. It has also expanded its
work beyond M&A advisory to include restructuring and reorganization
advisory, fund placement services, private equity, real estate, corporate debt
and marketable alternative investments, as well as closed-end funds in India
and Asia. In 1998, American International Group (AIG) purchased a 7
percent non-voting stake in Blackstone; it paid USD$150 million for its
share, and has invested over USD$1.2 billion in Blackstone-sponsored
funds. In addition to AIG, Blackstone has formed strategic alliances with
several international financial institutions, including Roland Berger
Strategy Consultants, Kissinger Associates, Alfaro Asesores Financieros
and Scandinaviska Enskilda Banken.
In June 2007, Blackstone put forward its long awaited and much-hyped
initial public offering, issuing 133.3 million units priced at USD$31 apiece.
The USD$4.13 billion IPO, the largest U.S.-based IPO in five years, gave
the public a 12.3 percent stake in Blackstone. After the IPO, the firm as a
whole was valued around USD$33 billion.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
The Blackstone Group
services. The M&A group has a focus in several industry areas such as
consumer products, energy, financial services, media and entertainment,
and health care, among others. It also has an expertise in several product
areas, including private company transactions, fairness opinions, structured
products, demutualizations and conversions, and financial advisory.
Blackstone has had its hand in many big M&A deals since its inception.
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Fund placement services for Blackstone are handled by its subsidiary, the
Park Hill Group, which services private equity funds, real estate funds,
venture capital funds and hedge funds. Park Hill has been a solid
contributor to Blackstone since its inception in 2005, raising approximately
USD$65.9 billion in capital for 44 different clients.
Indian infrastructure
In the Asia Pacific region, recent moves have shown that Blackstone has set
its sights on India as a major market for expansion. In March 2007,
Blackstone appointed Amit Dixit, a Harvard grad and Indian entrepreneur,
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
The Blackstone Group
to join its Indian private equity team. Blackstone has had a steady presence
in India since opening an office in Mumbai in 2005. Two of its major
funds, the Asia Tigers Fund and the India Fund, have made significant
investments totaling nearly USD$2 billion in a myriad of Indian companies.
The India Fund comprises the majority of these investments, with holdings
in notable Indian firms such as Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Reliance
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Industries, and Infosys. The fund is the largest U.S.-listed fund which has
India as its focal point.
Blackstone has also entered into the private equity game in India with two
modest investments in large Indian firms. In August 2006, the firm invested
USD$366 million in the Pune-based pharmaceutical company Emcure
Pharmaceuticals. Blackstone hopes to capitalize on Emcure’s potential to
become a global manufacturer of generic drugs. The company also made
the foray into the field of Indian media when it invested USD$465 in
Ushodaya Enterprises Limited, a firm which owns the country’s third-
largest newspaper and its fourth-largest private television station. The deal
was approved by Ushodaya’s board of directors in January 2007.
Chinese equity
Blackstone also invested private equity funds in a Chinese partner recently.
In September 2007, the firm announced that it would be acquiring a 19.9
percent stake in China National Bluestar Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of China National Chemical Corporation. The stake will cost Blackstone
up to USD$600 million, but will give it key access to the chemical industry
in China. Blackstone insiders Antony Leung and Ben Jenkins will become
members of Bluestar’s board.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
The Blackstone Group
its director and president, Prakash Melwani, warned that volatility in the
U.S. markets and an over-heated Chinese market may cause a slight
slowdown for the fund in 2008.
The Asia Tigers Fund’s main investments are in Hong Kong, South Korea,
and China with 21.0, 19.8 and 9.6 percent invested in each country,
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Asian M&A
Blackstone’s investment banking arm is more than proficient in M&A and
proved it in 2007 by workings its way up the Thomson Financial (now
Thomson Reuters) tables in two major categories. On the table reflecting
completed M&A deal volume for all of the Americas, Blackstone ranked
No. 16, with 21 deals worth a total of USD$83.5 billion. On the Asian
charts, Blackstone found itself ranked on China’s completed M&A deal
volume table, with a No. 10 ranking. The firm’s one deal in China had a
value of USD$2.98 billion and represented 6.8 percent of the total market
share.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
The Blackstone Group
GETTING HIRED
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Asia Pacific region.
BNP Paribas
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
BNP Paribas
THE SCOOP
Eurozone as well as one of the largest banks in the world. Today, the company
has more than 169,800 employees operating in 85 countries around the world.
The bank’s presence in Asia is substantial, with operations including China,
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand,
Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and India.
Worldwide, BNP Paribas has five major areas of business: French retail
banking, international retail services, asset management and services,
operations of BNL (Italy's Banco Nazionale del Lavoro, which BNP Paribas
took over in 2006) and corporate and investment banking.
In Asia, BNP Paribas’ business is divided into two core areas: Corporate and
Investment Banking (CIB), and Asset Management and Services. The CIB
activities are balanced between advisory and capital markets and specialized
financing. Within CIB, the client coverage organization manages the bank's
client portfolio along with financial institutions and large corporations. Asset
Management handles the asset-gathering arm of the group, including Private
Banking and BNP Paribas Investment Partners.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
BNP Paribas
Under the terms of the agreement, BNP Paribas originally purchased a 19.2
percent stake in the Chinese bank, close to the regulatory cap of 19.9 percent.
However, this stake was diluted to 12.6 percent following Bank of Nanjing's
IPO in July 2007. The two banks are collaborating in the retail banking area
while also offering services such as credit cards, wealth management and
corporate banking.
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Private riches
One of BNP Paribas’ main Asian businesses is its private banking division,
which has operations in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India and Taiwan. With
wealth skyrocketing in these regions, the competition is high to get in on the
action. In 2006, the world’s percentage of high-net-worth individuals increased
8.3 percent to 9.5 million. That same year, there were 345,000 people in China
with investable assets of USD$1 million or more. In India and Singapore, the
high-net worth population grew by 21.2 and 20.5 percent, respectively, the
largest increase of all the nations in the world. The clients that use BNP Paribas’
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
BNP Paribas
Currently, the bank has six offices in India and two in Taiwan, employing about
100 people combined. The operations in Singapore and Hong Kong are the two
key regional hubs in Asia, with about 550 total employees. As of June 2008,
BNP Paribas Private Bank had about USD$32 billion in assets under
management in Asia.
Debt dynamics
BNP Paribas has always long been a stalwart of the Thomson Financial
(now Thomson Reuters) investment banking league tables for Europe. But
in 2007, the bank branched out and found itself on a number of tables for
its involvement in Asian deals, particularly Asian debt deals. BNP Paribas
ranked No. 5 in Asian securitized bond underwriting, working on just two
deals during the year. These deals had proceeds of USD$567 million and
represented approximately 5.4 percent of the market share.
In the category of Asian G3 currency bonds, BNP Paribas ranked No. 14 in 2006
with deals that represented a market share of 1.6 percent. In 2007, the bank
managed to jump to No. 8 in the same category, working on 15 deals with total
proceeds of USD$2 billion. BNP Paribas also shot up in Asia Pacific emerging
markets bonds underwriting, leaping from No. 18 in 2006 to No. 8 in 2007. In
total, the company’s deals in that category had proceeds of USD$698.7 billion.
Though BNP didn’t appear on any equity capital markets tables in 2007, it
was all over the M&A transaction charts. Worldwide, the company ranked
No. 12 in announced deals, working on 199 transactions worth a total of
USD$384.6 billion and jumping one place from its position in 2006. In
European announced M&A, the firm held steady at No. 10, and in Asia
(excluding Japan) announced M&A volume, BNP Paribas moved up four
spots to take the No. 18 ranking, advising on 24 deals worth USD$7 billion.
In 2007, the firm’s corporate and investment bank (CIB) reported EUR 8.29
billion in revenue, a 2.5 percent increase versus 2006. Though CIB was
profitable in every quarter of 2007, its fourth quarter pre-tax net income of
EUR 343 million was 65 percent less than the same period in the previous
year. Overall, CIB brought in 28 percent of BNP Paribas’ total revenue in
2007 and 35 percent of its pre-tax net income.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas was named the Best Overall Provider of FX Services for the
third year in a row. In 2008, The Asset magazine singled BNP Paribas out
for its derivatives operations, naming it Derivatives House of the Year and
Best Equity Derivatives House, as well as Best Derivatives House for both
Japan and Taiwan. In addition, the firm was named 2008's Japan House of
the Year and Asia House of the Year by Structured Product magazine.
GETTING HIRED
BNP Paribas has a number of different career paths, but recruits heavily in
corporate and investment banking (corporate banking, corporate finance
and capital markets activities), retail banking, asset management and
services (including private banking and securities), and support functions.
More details on these opportunities are available on the firm's careers page
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
BNP Paribas
For Asia Pacific, the firm's careers page also has links to local pages and contact
information for its human resource departments at offices in Hong Kong, India,
Japan and Singapore. Just click “Other countries” under the country list and
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you'll be directed to the right place to apply. You can also apply for an internship
directly by submitting an application to the location of your choice.
In Hong Kong and Singapore, BNP Paribas offers opportunities in corporate and
investment banking, private banking and asset management. For Hong Kong,
you can e-mail your CV and cover letter to careers.hk@asia.bnpparibas.com,
and for Singapore, you can send them to sing.careers@asia.bnpparibas.com.
India can be reached at questwith.bnpp@asia.bnpparibas.com for corporate and
institutional banking, private banking and individual banking opportunities.
Japan offers corporate and institutional banking, and can be contacted at
hrjpn@japan.bnpparibas.com.
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BOC International
DEPARTMENTS
KEY COMPETITORS
Investment Banking
Fixed Income China Galaxy Securities
Securities Sales and Trading China Merchants Securities
Asset Management GF Securities
Investment Research Guotai Junan Securities
M&A Haitong Securities
Ping An Securities
LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Beijing www.bocigroup.com/pub/en
Hong Kong
Shanghai
Singapore
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
BOC International
THE SCOOP
The investment bank has since expanded into its presence into Beijing, now
representing both mainland China and Hong Kong. In 2002, the Bank of
China International China (BOCI China) was established with the
cooperation of mainland corporations such as China National Petroleum
Corporation, State Development & Investment Corporation, China General
Technology (Group) Holdings, Shanghai State-Owned Assets Operation
Co. and Yuxi Hongta Tobacco (Group) Co.
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BOC International
deal marked one of the biggest corporate takeovers in the history of Asia.
BOCI’s financing won the company kudos in the press, with Finance Asia
naming the deal “Best Loan” of the year.
Big deals
Domestically, BOCI has been involved in many big deals as well, including
the privatization of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railways Corporation,
which sold its share capital through a public offering in 2000. BOCI has
also served as underwriter on key technology offerings including the debuts
of Growth Enterprise Market, Phoenix Satellite Television, Shanghai Fudan
Microelectronics and Tong Ren Tang Technologies.
GETTING HIRED
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BOC International
all of its sectors, too—applicants can check out the site and find out whether
they possess the right skills for a job in investment banking, financial products,
equity sales and research, asset management or private equity. If you see a
position that matches your qualifications, send your resume along with your
“current and expected salaries” to bocihrd@bocigroup.com.
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CFETS-ICAP
SELECTED LOCATIONS
IN ASIA PACIFIC
Beijing
Shanghai
Other major cities in China
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CFETS-ICAP
THE SCOOP
Just a baby
As far as financial entities go, Shanghai CFETS-ICAP International Money
Broking Co., Ltd. (or just CFETS-ICAP) is barely out of its infancy. The unit
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first came about in September 2007, when U.K.-based ICAP PLC (an inter-
dealer money broker) and the China Foreign Exchange Trading System
(CFETS) & National Interbank Funding Center announced the launch of a joint
venture. With the birth of Shanghai CFETS-ICAP, broking services and services
related to money, bond and derivative markets were able to be provided to
consumers. The venture is only the second money broking company of its kind
to receive approval from the by the China Banking Regulatory Commission—
another joint venture between a U.K. firm and a Chinese firm, Tullett Prebon
SITICO, was the first to be approved back in November 2005.
Clearly, CFETS-ICAP isn’t a venture that just arose out of thin air—its dual
components are what make it run. ICAP acts as a go-between for
investment banks and institutions who want to get involved in monetary
markets. ICAP, which came about from the 1999 merger between the
companies Garban and Intercapital, appears financially secure, bringing in
GBP 121.3 million in net profit in 2007, up from the GBP 117.2 million it
reaped in 2006. ICAP also owns a 33 percent stake of CFETS-ICAP.
Another challenger?
Just a few months after its inception, CFETS-ICAP faced a little friendly
competition in its niche market when the China-based Ping An Group and
the Switzerland-based Compagnie Financière Tradition launched a similar
money broking venture, Ping An Tradition International Money Broking
Co. Ltd., in January 2008. The joint venture—the third-largest of its kind
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CFETS-ICAP
A temporary halt
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Expansion plans
Parent company CFETS announced in May 2008 that China will keep
expanding its currency derivatives through the year to keep up with market
demand. The hope is that having an assortment of derivative products might
assist China’s exporters and importers in deciding which currency risks are
safe (or at least safer) bets. However, the new derivative menu might not be
coming to fruition in the immediate future. New types of derivatives won’t
necessarily be added in 2008, according to Xie Duo, president of CFETS.
GETTING HIRED
Pretty vacancies
CFETS-ICAP’s English-language careers page at www.cfets-
icap.com.cn/en/company_recru.html lists job vacancies, along with the
specific roles the prospective applicant can expect to play in their position.
In addition, the firm lists its requirements for jobs—“good communication
skills,” “self-motivation and self-discipline” and the ability to work as part
of a team all seem to be recurrent themes. There’s no formal application
process on the site, but if you find a job that fits your experience, just email
hr@cfets-icap.com.cn. Openings range from entry-level trainee positions
to full-fledged broker positions.
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China Construction Bank
25 Finance St.
THE STATS
Xicheng District
Beijing, 100032 Employer Type: Public Company
China Ticker Symbol: 0939 (HKSE);
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
China Construction Bank
THE SCOOP
China Construction Bank (CCB) made its debut in the market when it
launched its IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange in November 2005.
The share price rose approximately 50 percent in the first year of trading,
setting the stage for an even bigger offering on the Chinese mainland in
September 2007. CCB launched the second-largest IPO in the history of
China, raising approximately USD$7.7 billion, when the bank entered into
trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The bank’s future looks bright in capitalist markets, but it still keeps a tight
rein on its employees. On the company website, CCB warns its employees
that they must be vigilant to avoid mistakes, with the following motto: “My
minor negligence may cause great trouble for the client. My trivial mistake
may cause great loss for the CCB. Greed, depravation, and corruption will
bring shame to myself, my family, and my CCB.”
Organization charts
Three main business segments make up CCB’s main operations: corporate
banking, personal banking and treasury operations. With 13,629 branches
stretched throughout the country, CCB is one of the largest banks offering
services for infrastructure loans, residential mortgages, and savings and
deposits. The bank’s corporate services include institutional e-banking,
credit services, fund settlement and custody, and international financing.
The bank services its international clients from overseas offices in
Frankfurt, Germany; Johannesburg, South Africa; Singapore; Seoul; and
Tokyo. Its asset management and wealth management services are handled
through its subsidiary, China Construction Bank Principal Asset
Management.
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China Construction Bank
soon exposed him for having accepted bribes worth approximately RMB
4.18 million. In September 2006, the former leader of the state-owned bank
was sentenced to 15 years in prison at the Qincheng facilities outside of
Beijing.
Banking buddies
In 2005, CCB entered into a strategic alliance with U.S. superpower Bank
of America, when Bank of America purchased a 9 percent stake in the
Chinese entity. The alliance gives CCB the prestige of being associated
with an American banking giant while simultaneously giving Bank of
America access to key markets in China. Just one short year after Bank of
America bought the stake, CCB purchased Bank of America Asia, a Hong
Kong firm with a subsidiary in Macau. Bank of America Asia is now
known as China Construction Bank Asia.
Bank of America is not the only foreign bank that CCB has partnered with.
The Chinese lender is a member of the Global ATM Alliance, a service
which allows costumers from a wide range of international banks to use
each other’s ATMs without fees. The Alliance consists of nine banks
including CCB. The other banks in the consortium are ABSA, Barclays,
Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Santander Serfin,
Scotiabank and Westpac.
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China Construction Bank
the world. The company was also recognized by a host of different sources
for its outstanding customer service, winning the title of “Best Customer
Service in China” in a program run by the China Information Industry
Association and the Asia Customer Service Association.
Part of the reason for CCB’s overwhelming success is that it one of the most
reliable of the “big four” state-owned banks of China. It has none of the
subprime debt of Bank of China and far less non-performing loans (NPLs)
than the Agricultural Bank of China and its returns keep swelling, even as
the market is slowing. In 2007, CCB’s net profit was RMB 69.14 million,
a 49.2 percent increase from the previous year. Though the bank does have
some NPLs, the value is negligible compared to the reported USD$100
billion of Agricultural Bank of China. In the first half of 2007, CCB wrote
off about RMB 90.7 million of NPLs, or about USD$12 million.
CCB’s underwriting activities also took a jump in 2007. The firm found
itself ranked No. 21 on the Thomson Financial league tables for mandated
arrangers or syndicated loans, working on 32 different issues worth
USD$2.6 billion. In 2006, CCB did not appear on the league tables for
loans.
GETTING HIRED
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China Construction Bank
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China Galaxy Securities
DEPARTMENTS
KEY COMPETITORS
Securities Brokerage
Investment Banking BOC International
Underwriting and IPO China International Capital Corporation
Recommendation China Merchants Securities
Mergers and Acquisitions CITIC Securities
Financial Consulting Guotai Junan Securities
Asset Management Ping An Securities
Portfolio Investment
Fund Management EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Market Research
“Contact us” link on
www.chinastock.com.cn
LOCATIONS IN CHINA (in Simplified Chinese)
Beijing
Guangzhou
Shanghai
Shenzhen
Other major cities in China
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China Galaxy Securities
THE SCOOP
Come together
China Galaxy Securities Company Limited was officially founded in
August 2000 with start-up capital of RMB 4.5 billion. Though China
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Galaxy may seem like the new kid on the block, it actually draws from the
experience of five of China’s most established companies. China Galaxy is
comprised of the integration of trust and investment companies drawn from
China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank
of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Life Insurance Company.
Today, this joint effort is the third-largest underwriter in China with 14
percent of the market share, behind only CITIC Securities and China
International Capital Corporation (CICC).
China Galaxy also has a series of indexes which launched in March 2001.
These indexes include the Galaxy 500, the Galaxy Fund Index, the Galaxy
T-bond index and the Galaxy Corporate Bond Index.
The debut of China Coal Energy’s stock would have been even more
impressive if it had not been eclipsed by the October 2007 debut of China
Shenhua Energy, the largest coal miner in the country. Shenhua’s IPO
raised a record RMB 66.6 billion, the largest sum ever raised by a mainland
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China Galaxy Securities
Chinese company. The stock was priced at RMB 36.99 per share and sold
approximately 1.8 billion shares. Shenhua’s stock was also massively
oversubscribed, raising RMB 2.67 trillion, a record number of
subscriptions.
It was a record year for Asian equity markets, with a 120 percent surge from
the previous year in follow-on issuance. Total equity and equity-related
issuance for 2007 was also at a record USD$232.2 billion. A-shares (shares
traded in RMB on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges) also were
at their highest ever, with USD$60 billion raised from the debut of 115
companies.
Bocom blossoms
In China, 2007 was a year of IPO fever, as hot stocks hitting the market
seemed to set new records each day. China Galaxy was involved in one of
the earliest record-setting IPOs of the year in April, when it helped to
arrange the sale of Bank of Communications Ltd. (BoComm), China’s
sixth-largest bank. BoComm managed to raise RMB 1.45 trillion in
subscriptions prior to its Shanghai stock exchange debut. Shares were
priced at RMB 7.9 each. In total, the firm earned about USD$3.3 billion on
the sale.
GETTING HIRED
Best of luck
How to go about finding a gig at China Galaxy Securities appears to be
anybody’s guess. The bank doesn’t list employment opportunities on its
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China Galaxy Securities
web site and listings for the firm are absent from most China-based job
sites. If you can read Simplified Chinese, you can log on to its affiliate site,
www.chinastock.com.cn, and try the “contact us” section for full
information. But China Galaxy seems to be like many securities firms in
China—jobs and positions available within the company aren’t often
widely publicized. So if you have a contact within the company, milk it—
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China International Capital
Corporation
28th Floor, China World Tower 2
THE STATS
No. 1 Jianguomenwai Ave.
Beijing 100004 Employer Type: Private Company
China Chairman: Jesse Wang
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LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC
Beijing
Hong Kong
Shanghai
Shenzhen
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
China International Capital Corporation
THE SCOOP
bank. Founded in 1995, long before the buzz about China turned into a
roar, CICC was a way for banking giant Morgan Stanley to test the financial
waters in the blossoming Asian nation. Partnering with four other Asian
firms (China Jianyin Investment Limited, China National Investment &
Guaranty Co., Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and
Mingly Corporation), Morgan Stanley bought a 34.3 percent stake in CICC
at the time of its incorporation, marking the first time a Wall Street
company had made such a significant investment in China.
Over the past 13 years, Morgan Stanley’s investment gamble has more than
paid off. CICC is currently one of the lead underwriters in the country,
working on some of the biggest deals in history, including the IPO of China
Construction Bank (USD$9.2 billion) in 2005 and the IPO of Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in 2006 (USD$19.1 billion). In 2007,
CICC underwrote USD$17.7 billion in public offerings, according to
Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters).
CICC’s main offices are located in Beijing, but the company also has
locations in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
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China International Capital Corporation
international market has been hot for Chinese IPOs, and CICC has been
lucky enough to be involved in some of the most lucrative deals. One of
the most notable of these was the debut of China’s CITIC Bank in April
2007, which hit both stock exchanges in one day, raising a total of
USD$5.95 billion. CICC acted as joint global coordinator, bookrunner,
sponsor, lead underwriter and financial advisor for the H-share (mainland
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Chinese stocks listed on the Hong Kong exchange) offering, and sole
financial advisor for the A-share (mainland Chinese stocks traded in RMB
on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges) offering in Shanghai.
The firm also acted as joint coordinator, bookrunner and sponsor for the
double-exchange public offering of Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China (ICBC) in October 2006, which was the largest IPO in global history,
raising an unprecedented USD$19.1 billion.
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China International Capital Corporation
In the category of Chinese M&A advisory, CICC not only dropped in the
rankings, it also lost its title as the top advisor in Chinese deals to a foreign
firm, J.P. Morgan. In 2006, CICC was the king of the tables, ranking No. 1
with an astounding 63.9 percent of the market share. However, in 2007, the
firm’s market share plunged 57 points, putting them in the less-impressive
No. 6 spot. CICC’s five deals in 2007 pulled in USD$3.9 billion for the
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GETTING HIRED
For any general questions on the application process, you can e-mail
talent@cicc.com.cn. However, the firm notes that resumes should not be
sent to this address—instead, use its online application system.
The recruitment site also gives useful tips on interview preparation. Along
with general advice (such as a reminder to learn about investment banking
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China International Capital Corporation
and research the firm as well as the department you are applying to), CICC
explains that interview questions generally evaluate two main areas:
“whether you have the required knowledge and skills for the job; and
whether you possess the specific competency required of a CICC
employee.” Another piece of advice CICC offers is to give specific
examples of what you have done “to show the real you” during the
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interview.
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China Merchants Securities
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China Merchants Securities
THE SCOOP
Top ten
China Merchants Securities Co. Ltd. (CMS) is a subsidiary of China
Merchants Bank (CMB), the sixth-largest bank in China. The securities
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firm ranks ninth on the list of China’s top brokerages. However, the firm
plans to launch an IPO in late 2008 that it hopes will raise enough cash to
launch it even farther into the upper echelons of Chinese business. CMS
has hired the Chinese brokerage arms of financial giants Goldman Sachs
and UBS in order to arrange the public offering, which could raise up to
RMB 5 billion. The company has boosted its net profits considerably in the
past few years—in June 2007, the firm’s half-year profits were RMB 2.4
billion, compared to RMB 1.1 billion from the entire previous year.
The firm’s parent company, CMB, certainly lends its subsidiary the clout
and reputation needed to be a leading player in the securities game. By
targeting consumers and small businesses, CMB has built itself up to be one
of the leading retail banks in China. When CMB went public on the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange in September 2006, it raised USD$2.4 billion, or
approximately 2.39 percent of its book value. In November 2007, CMB
became the first Chinese lender in 16 years to gain approval from the U.S.
Federal Reserve to open an office in New York.
CMB launched in 1987 and was the first commercial bank in China not
directly under government control. This has given the firm the ability to
steer clear of government-mandated loans, which have often become the
non-performing loans (NPLs) that have saddled down the “Big Four” of
Chinese state-owned banks. In 1991, CMB launched CMS to expand its
business even further. Both CMS and CMB are headquartered in Shenzhen,
with offices throughout Hong Kong and mainland China.
QDII approved
CMS has the privilege of being one of only seven Chinese brokerages (as
of mid-2008) who have won the coveted status of qualified domestic
institutional investor, or QDII. The China Securities Regulatory
Commission (CSRC) has only allowed securities firms to invest in foreign
securities markets since April 2006, when the QDII program was launched.
At first, investments were limited to fixed-income and money market
products. However, the CSRC expanded the definition of QDII in May
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
China Merchants Securities
In September 2007, CMS became the second securities firm to earn QDII
approval after China International Capital Corporation. The five other
securities firms which have QDII approval from the CSRC are CITIC
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Subsidiary of a subsidiary
CMS handles its fund management through a joint venture with the Dutch
financial firm ING Investment Management. The firm is called China
Merchants Fund Management (CMF), and it was the first Sino-foreign joint
venture to receive formal approval to operate in mainland China. CMF was
founded in December 2002 as a collaboration between CMS, ING and three
other companies: China Power Finance Company, China Huaneng Finance
Company and China COSCO Finance Company. However, in May 2007,
China Merchants Bank bought out the three companies, leaving CMF
evenly split three ways between CMB, CMS and ING.
High-flying IPO
Prior to the public debut of CMS, in December 2007 the firm received a
purchase offer for 29.77 million shares from a domestic airline company,
Hainan Airlines. Hainan offered to buy the shares, representing an
approximate 1 percent stake in CMS, at RMB 20 per share for a grand total
of RMB 595 million. However, the purchase price is subject to adjustment
if the IPO price comes significantly higher than Hainan Airlines’ offer price.
Hainan Airlines will raise assets for the buy from its parent company, Grand
China Airlines, the fourth-largest airline in China.
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China Merchants Securities
GETTING HIRED
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Asia Pacific region.
CIBC World Markets
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
CIBC World Markets
THE SCOOP
CIBC World Markets is the wholesale and corporate banking arm of CIBC
(Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce). Though the bank’s home base may
be in the frosty north, CIBC World Markets frequently does business even on
the other, warmer side of the world. The company has six offices in the Asia
Pacific region, located in Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore,
and Sydney.
French-Asian fusion
While many of the global investment banks have partnered with Chinese or
Hong Kong financial services companies in order to get their foot in the
door in the growing Asian markets, CIBC World Markets had a different
plan. In March 2001, when the company was just four years old, it entered
into a strategic alliance with a French bank, CLSA Emerging Markets.
CLSA is the Asian investment banking and private equity arm of Credit
Agricole. The match was a natural connection—CLSA’s CEO at the time,
Gary Coull, was Canadian-born.
The two companies entered into a collaboration that doubled the strength
and breadth of its operations in cross-border equity and equity-related
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
CIBC World Markets
finance, corporate advisory and M&A expertise for North American clients
in Asia. At the time the partnership was announced, CLSA had services in
more than 12 Asian countries.
CIBC was one of the most promising young firms in the world at the start
of 2007 due to several key factors. It was the underwriter on a huge deal:
Fortis’ acquisition of Canadian utility company Terasen’s gas distribution
business. Plus, the bank was bringing in a lot of money from its U.S. real
estate finance business. However, the year’s fortunes were not to last. By
the end of 2007, the firm had announced that its exposure, both hedged and
unhedged, to the subprime market was approximately USD$11 billion.
Though CIBC World Markets’ U.S. operations will be diminished due to the
collaboration with Oppenheimer, the company will retain its real estate
finance, equity and commodity structured products, merchant banking, and oil
and gas advice divisions, as well as its U.S. debt capital-markets, Asia and
U.K. businesses.
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CIBC World Markets
Mining expertise
CIBC World Market’s has carved out a niche for itself in the world of
investment banking with a specialty in mining M&A advisory. In 2007, this
was profitable for the company, as there was a boom in mining acquisitions.
CIBC World Markets has been involved in deals with some of the biggest
international names in mining including Placer Dome, Noranda and Anglo
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Gold Ashanti. One of the firm’s highest-profile deals of 2007 was representing
Rio Tinto in its takeover bid for Canadian aluminum company Alcan.
GETTING HIRED
To apply for opportunities in Asia Pacific, there are links from the
recruitment page to send your CV by e-mail to coordinators in Australia,
China and Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. For Australia, send it to
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CIBC World Markets
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Citi Institutional Clients
Group
50/F Citibank Tower
KEY COMPETITORS
Citibank Plaza, 3 Garden Road
Central, Hong Kong Deutsche Bank
www.citigroup.com Goldman Sachs
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HSBC
JPMorgan Chase
BUSINESSES Morgan Stanley
Securities & Banking UBS
Global Transactions Services
Alternative Investments
PLUSES
• “Superior client access”
LOCATIONS IN • “Phenomenal people”
ASIA PACIFIC • “A wide variety of assignments”
Australia • Bangladesh • Brunei •
China • Hong Kong • India • MINUSES
Indonesia • Japan • Korea •
Malaysia • New Zealand • • “The hours are tough”
Philippines • Singapore • Sri Lanka • “Below-par pay scales and bonuses”
• Taiwan • Thailand • Vietnam • “Lack of resources”
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Citi Institutional Clients Group
THE SCOOP
A changing Citi
For many years, Citi divided its businesses into four lines: Markets and
Banking, Global Consumer Group, Global Wealth Management and
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Pandit was named Prince’s replacement after a search by the bank’s board.
Sir Win Bischoff, a London-based Citi executive who served as acting CEO
during the interim, was named chairman of the board. Before founding Old
Lane, Pandit had served as president and chief operating officer of Morgan
Stanley’s Institutional Securities Group (which included Morgan Stanley’s
investment banking, fixed income and capital markets businesses). In
another major appointment, John Havens was named head of Citi’s
Institutional Clients Group (ICG) globally in early 2008.
Citi has been in Asia for more than 100 years. It first opened for business
in Shanghai in 1902 through its predecessor company, International
Banking Corporation (IBC), before opening branches in Hong Kong, India,
Singapore and the Philippines in the same year. It was the first U.S. bank to
establish operations in Asia. Today, Citi’s ICG business serves
multinational organizations, local corporations and financial institutions,
offering a range of products and services, including securities sales and
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Citi Institutional Clients Group
Beginning in Philly
In 1873, Philadelphia-based trader Charles Barney opened a securities firm.
Another brokerage business, run by Edward Smith, opened for business 19
years later. The two men later joined forces to become Smith Barney,
which was bought in 1987 by financial services giant Primerica. Six years
after that deal, Primerica was bought by the Travelers Group insurance
company, and when Travelers added Salomon Brothers to its holdings, it
created Salomon Smith Barney.
Troubled times
Citi found itself in the center of the subprime storm in 2007 and early 2008
with heavy losses related to subprime mortgages. In the fourth quarter of
2007, the firm announced its exposure to the mortgage market and write-
downs of USD$18.1 billion, which led to a net loss of USD$9.8 billion for
the quarter.
The firm became the latest American company to tap investments from
sovereign wealth funds and foreign investors in order to bolster liquidity.
Citi’s cash came from a variety of different sources. In November 2007, the
firm announced it would receive a cash infusion of USD$7.5 billion from
an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. In January 2008, the Government of
Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) pumped USD$6.9 billion into the
firm in exchange for a 4 percent stake. Capital Research Global Investors,
Capital World Investors, the Kuwait Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia’s
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and Sanford Weill also contributed capital.
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Citi Institutional Clients Group
Following those high profile capital raising moves, Citi’s balance sheet is
in excess of USD$2 trillion dollars and its credit ratings remain among the
strongest in the industry. Citigroup’s resources include a USD$831 billion
deposit base (the value as of the end of March 31, 2008) which at the time
represented approximately 37 percent of its balance sheet.
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Even with the strong balance sheet and the capital raised from outside
sources, Citi still faces a challenging future. Citi laid off about 17,000
people in April 2007 in anticipation of losses in the second half of the year.
Its USD$9.83 billion fourth quarter proved to be the biggest in Citi’s
history. In January, it announced it was cutting 4,200 jobs from its
Investment Banking division in order to reduce costs.
At the time, it announced that its ultimate total number of layoffs could be
close to 20,000 to 24,000, which—due to the firm’s massive size—still only
accounts for less than 10 percent of Citi’s workforce. Two months later, the
firm announced plans to lay off an additional 2,000 workers, though the
firm maintained that the cuts are an annual occurrence. In a statement,
Citigroup spokesman Dan Noonan said, “Each year we identify the bottom
5 percent of performers in the Institutional Clients Group, and some number
of these people leave the firm.” The reductions occurred worldwide,
though most took place at the firm’s New York and London offices.
More woes
Citi’s disappointing first quarter results produced a loss of USD$5.1 billion,
compared with a USD$5 billion profit for the first quarter of 2007. Citi’s
revenue figure wasn’t much better, falling 48 percent from the first quarter
of 2007 to USD$13.2 billion. Along with its results, the firm announced a
USD$622 million restructuring charge and plans to slash 9,000 jobs
throughout 2008, mostly due to the shaky subprime market. In June 2008,
Citigroup said it would be shuttering its struggling hedge fund Old Lane
Partners, which had not yet reached its first birthday. The fund, purchased
by Citi for USD$800 million in July 2007, was co-founded by Citi CEO
Vikram Pandit.
A Cordial takeover
While regaining its financial footing in the United States, Citi has been
working to expand its global reach in order to shore up its investments in
Asia. One strategic move was to acquire partner Nikko Cordial
Corporation. Citi has partnered with Nikko’s investment bank in a joint
venture which was 49 percent owned by the American firm. Citi also had
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Citi Institutional Clients Group
Debt dominance
Every year Citi ranks high on the Thomson Financial (now Thomson
Reuters) investment banking charts in equity and debt capital markets, and
despite its difficulties in the subprime market, 2007 was no exception. The
firm nabbed the top spot for all global debt, equity and equity-related deals,
with USD$617 billion in proceeds coming from 1,740 transactions. The
firm was also No. 1 on the charts for collateralized debt obligations and
asset-backed securities. In the category of Asian G3 currency bonds, Citi
was second only to Deutsche Bank, with USD$5.7 billion in proceeds and
11.9 percent of the market share.
On the equity capital markets charts, Citi slipped a few places in most
international categories. In all global equity or equity-related deals, the
bank fell one place to No. 3 with USD$71.07 billion in proceeds from 309
deals. In Asian equity deals, it dropped two places to No. 6 with proceeds
of USD$12.9 billion. During the year, Citi led banner equity deals
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Citi Institutional Clients Group
On the M&A charts, Citi held onto its No. 3 ranking in global announced
deal volume and stayed steady at No. 4 in U.S. announced transactions. In
Asia (excluding Japan) announced deal volume, Citi rose one spot from
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2006 to nab the No. 4 place in 2007. By number of deals in the region, the
firm also rose a spot, finishing at No. 6. In U.S. announced M&A deal
volume, Citi ranked No. 3, coming in right behind perennial advisory
masters Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Looking forward
Since taking over leadership of the company, Citi CEO Vikram Pandit has
remained resolute that the firm would not break up, despite the fact that it
will be dealing with billions more in mortgage-related write-downs in 2008.
Pandit has emphasized that under his leadership, Citi will follow the global
universal bank model as the right model for Citi, especially for capitalizing
on the high growth in emerging markets.
Pandit has outlined some specific goals for putting Citi back on track,
including identifying approximately USD$500 billion of legacy assets
which will be reduced over time, targeting revenue growth of 8 to 10
percent and to increase its return on equity to 18 to 20 percent, and planning
USD$15 billion in re-engineering benefits over time.
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Citi Institutional Clients Group
Lots of talking
For most candidates, the interview process will involve meeting with many
people from several levels within the firm. “I went through 11 interviews
with every single banker in our team,” a Seoul insider recalls; another
banker says the process involved “12 interviews with individuals of varying
seniority from multiple product and industry groups.” A third source had to
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Hiring for the summer internship program follows a similar pattern, starting
with a first round that focuses primarily on behavioral questions “with a few
simple technical questions” during the course of “two interviews with an
associate and an analyst.” Next comes a second round “comprised five
two-on-one interviews with staff ranked from associate to managing
director.” Former interns say the lines of questioning “were topic-specific,”
emphasizing “work experience, technical skills, behavioral skills and
motivation.”
Those who land one of the coveted spots will find it’s a “well-structured”
program “with rotations throughout industry groups, based on personal
preference.” Former interns report earning “market rate” pay, based on the
rate full-time employees earn. The work itself is “all work a first-year
employee would be involved in,” with “varied” assignments over the course
of the summer.
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Citi Institutional Clients Group
Banking from A to Z
Employees “take great pride in the Citi name,” and say the firm’s culture of
“diversity, mutual respect, accountability and meritocracy” is strong. The
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firm also wins points for its “very aggressive business sense,” which creates
a “great learning experience” even for new hires. Those in the Institutional
Clients Group also benefit from “significant interaction with other, non-
investment banking parts of the business.” “This firm has a very good
banking platform ranging from commercial banking, corporate banking to
private banking,” one respondent explains. “I always wanted to see the full
spectrum of banking.” Among junior staffers, Citi’s culture “is the best
among the big banks,” insiders rave. “We are friends and do not compete
as others do.”
Hours are long, and some say the “pressure to deliver is constant,” resulting
in some “burnout.” “I pull 100 to 120 hours a week, easily,” one young
source says. Another averages “8 to 10 hours, even on weekends.” He
adds, “On average, we spend four to six hours, even on Sundays, and are in
the office alternate Sundays.” But, notes a Hong Kong contact, this
“depends greatly on your team: some teams will emphasize hours spent at
the office, while others only focus on whether you get your work done and
are productive.”
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Citi Institutional Clients Group
is more certain.”
The offices “have begun some training programs,” but insiders call them
“limited at best.” In order to receive training, sources say that “self-
initiation is required.”
Simple digs
“I’ve never seen too much luxury at Citi, from London to New York to
Bogota to Singapore to Hong Kong,” says a well-traveled source. “If
anything, offices are a bit Spartan.” Other employees take a harsher stand,
calling Citi’s outposts “not very nice environments to work in,” citing
“cubicles with small desk space,” and “poor meeting facilities.”
The firm gets fairly high marks on diversity, at least in terms of its hiring
efforts. “There’s a 50-50 split in my team,” says one employee, who
estimates that “junior females outnumber junior males overall.” As
diversity narrows at the top of the ranks, however, some junior women are
frustrated by a lack of “female banker role models.”
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CITIC Securities
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CITIC Securities
THE SCOOP
World dominance
China International Trust and Investment Corporation Securities—better
known as CITIC Securities—is the fourth-largest investment bank by
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Sea of subsidiaries
CITIC Securities also does business through its Hong Kong-based
subsidiary CITIC Securities International (formerly CITIC Securities Hong
Kong), in which it owns an 88 percent stake. CITIC Securities International
also has three wholly-owned subsidiaries: CITIC Securities Brokerage
Hong Kong, CITIC Securities Futures Hong Kong and CITIC Securities
Corporate Finance Hong Kong.
In August 2007, the company also bought China’s Shenzhen Gold Bull
Futures Company for RMB 100 billion in order to expand its business into
the futures trade. China’s regulatory agency has mentioned vague plans to
legalize stock index futures in 2008 “when the conditions are ripe.”
However, CITIC wasn’t finished expanding. In early 2008, the securities
firm announced that it had plans to branch out into the direct equity
investment business, pumping capital of RMB 831 million into a new
subsidiary named Jinshi Investment Company.
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CITIC Securities
Big fundraising
With all the plans for expansion in its future, CITIC needed to raise some
cash. It did so by listing an additional 333.73 million shares of its stock on
the Shanghai exchange in early September 2007. The response to the
offering was overwhelming, with institutional and retail investors paying
approximately USD$3.3 billion to get a piece of the booming stock. The
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Enthusiasm for CITIC’s stock came with good reason. Since China Life
Insurance’s investment in 2006, which it purchased for less than RMB 10
per share, the price of CITIC’s Shanghai stock has skyrocketed—reaching
a peak price of RMB 107 per share in October 2007. The stock price has
come down since then, but is still trading around RMB 70 per share. The
September stock sale brought CITIC’s total outstanding shares to 3.32
billion.
CITIC and Bear Stearns agreed in October 2007 that they would swap
stakes in one another—for USD$1 billion, CITIC would receive securities
that would convert to a 6 percent equity stake in Bear Stearns. CITIC
would also receive the rights to buy as much as 3.9 percent of the
investment bank, capping out its minority investment at 9.9 percent. In
return, Bear Stearns would also invest USD$1 billion in CITIC, worth
about a 2 percent stake in the company, with the option to buy 5 percent
more. The investment would give Bear Stearns a much-needed foothold in
the Chinese securities market, which had only previously been broken into
by a handful of American companies, including Bear’s main competitors,
Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.
In February 2008, the two firms were renegotiating the deal because the
share prices of both had fallen since the arrangement. Disaster struck for
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CITIC Securities
Bear, however, and the ugly collapse of the once-giant brokerage came in
March. CITIC was able to pull out of the deal after the collapse.
Kong Stock Exchange. First, the securities firm would have to get approval
from its shareholders to meet the strict requirements to enter the Hong Kong
exchange, including a fee of 10 percent of the proceeds which would go to
the national pension fund. The deal remains a distinct possibility. CITIC’s
chairman, Wang Dongming, told the Financial Times in November 2007
that listing on the Hong Kong market “would help us internationalize our
mindset. If you list in Hong Kong, you become real.”
In the equity capital markets category, the IPO debut of CITIC Securities’
sister company, CITIC Bank, was the largest in Asia in 2007 and the third-
largest in the world, raising USD$5.9 billion. CITIC was joint manager of
the deal with China International Capital Company (CICC), Citigroup,
HSBC and Lehman Brothers. CITIC got a bump on the equity tables for
2007, jumping from No. 13 on the charts into a coveted top-ten position.
CITIC ranked fifth in the Asian market for common stock deals, pulling in
USD$13.7 billion from 18 deals. Its market share jumped from 2.6 percent
in 2006 to 4.4 percent in 2007.
CITIC also found itself on the tables for M&A financial advisory this year.
The firm’s one M&A deal of the year earned USD$2.8 billion. This was
enough to tie CITIC for 13th place on the charts for Asia (from an unranked
position in 2006) with 6.5 percent of the market share.
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CITIC Securities
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CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets
LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
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CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets
THE SCOOP
With Crédit Agricole’s 65 percent ownership, Coull worked hard during his
tenure as chairman to attract the attention of even more international
investors to the Asian market. Part of his plan to do so included hosting
annual investor forums, which featured splashy parties and appearances by
international celebrities such as Elton John, James Brown and Macy Gray.
Coull died in October 2006 of colon cancer, only one month after he was
named one of the top 50 most influential people in Asian financial history
by FinanceAsia.
China securities
In 2003 CLSA also established the first Sino-foreign joint venture
investment bank in China, following the country’s membership in the World
Trade Organization. The joint venture is called China Euro Securities, Ltd.
(CESL) and is headquartered in Shanghai, employing 80 investment
professionals. CESL was originally a collaboration between CLSA Asia-
Pacific Markets and Xiangcai Securities. However, in April 2007, Fortune
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CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets
Through its own business license and affiliates, CESL’s investment banking
services include: equity financing, debt financing, private placement,
enterprise restructuring and ownership reform, M&A, shareholding
structure reform, enterprise strategy and financial planning. In June 2008,
CESL was granted a broking license and equity research license, making it
the first Sino-foreign joint venture securities company to be permitted to
broke A-shares and offer full-service research.
A variety of vehicles
In March 2006, CLSA reorganized its private equity business into a
separate group called CLSA Capital Partners, which currently manages
eight funds for the company: Alcor Capital, Aria Investment Partners,
MezzAsia Capital, Fudo Capital, CLSA Sunrise Capital, Clean Resources
Asia, Clean Water Asia and Pacific Transport.
Dealmakers
CLSA has a strong track record in the issuance of equity products for Asian
corporates and in 2007 ranked in the top ten on Bloomberg’s underwriter
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CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets
league tables, which measures all eligible equity issues in Asia Pacific
(excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand). CLSA’s proceeds in that
category were approximately USD$2.6 billion, giving them a rank of No.
10 with 1.9 percent of the market share. In addition, CLSA climbed the
Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters) league tables three places in
the category of equity capital markets in 2007, earning itself a place in the
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coveted top ten for bookrunning of common stock in Asia (excluding Japan
and Australia). The bank’s proceeds in that category were approximately
USD$2.8 billion, giving it a rank of No. 10 with 2.2 percent of the market
share.
Some of CLSA’s deals include acting as the sole bookrunner for Chuang’s
China Investment, Ltd. on its USD$40 million top-up share placement in
July 2007. CLSA was also sole bookrunner of the top-up share placement
of Maxitech International Holdings, a deal worth USD$34.5 million.
Bigger transactions include the USD$371 million underwriting of PNOC
Energy Development in the Philippines and the USD$207 million co-
management of ZhongDe Waste Technology AG’s IPO in China.
Indian equity
Throughout its existence, CLSA has been focused on deals in China and in
Hong Kong, where the company has its headquarters. But in June 2007,
CLSA made significant inroads into the Indian market by acting as the sole
global coordinator and sole bookrunner in the qualified institutional
placement (QIP) of Max India Limited, a healthcare, life insurance and
clinical research company located in Mumbai. The deal was the largest
sole-led equity deal in India the past five years, raising USD$243 million.
Pankaj Agrawal, the co-head of the India investment banking division of
CLSA, said that the QIP was “comfortably oversubscribed.”
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CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets
To apply for the CLSA Academy, the first step is to fill out an online
questionnaire, which is only available on CLSA’s web site during open
application dates. If you would like more information on the program,
including testimonials from current and former participants as well as a
FAQ, take a look at www.clsa.com/academy. For updates or any questions,
contact academy@clsa.com with your e-mail address.
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Commonwealth Bank
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Commonwealth Bank
THE SCOOP
Brand recognition
Commonwealth Bank is one of Australia’s leading financial institutions and
one of the largest listed companies on the Australian stock exchange. It
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Commonwealth Bank was actively involved in World War II for the federal
government and as a personal banker for enlisted men. Post-war legislation
provided financing for activities such as housing construction and industrial
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Commonwealth Bank
functions, and the Reserve Bank of Australia was formed to take over central
banking activities. Banking continued to develop throughout the mid-20th
century, and various restructurings took place for Commonwealth. In 1989, a
major acquisition took place as Commonwealth acquired a 75 percent stake in
New Zealand’s ASB Bank.
But the government still retained its tight grasp on the bank until 1991, when
the bank began a three-stage process of privatization. First, in July and August
1991, approximately 30 percent of the bank’s shares were made available to
the public. A further 20 percent or so was released in late 1993, for a total just
under 50 percent. The government’s final 50.4 percent stake was put on public
offer in July 1996. During this privatization, Commonwealth was also
restructured into three divisions: personal banking, business banking and
banking operations.
In 2000, the bank officially merged with rival Colonial Limited after approval
from the Supreme Court of Victoria. The move into Asia took a bit longer, as
it was not until 2005 that Commonwealth joined forces with Indonesia’s PT
Bank to create the joint venture PT Bank Commonwealth. In the same year,
Commonwealth formed strategic alliances with Chinese banks including Jinan
City Commercial Bank and Hangzhou City Commercial Bank.
Commonwealth in China
The Commonwealth Bank may be one of the largest Australian lenders, but
it also maintains a presence outside of the continent that continues to grow
as its neighboring economies flourish. The bank holds a 19.9 percent stake
in Hangzhou City Commercial Bank, one of the five largest commercial
city banks in China. The purchase was completed in April 2005 and cost
Commonwealth USD$78 million, an investment that has proved lucrative
due to the expansion of the Chinese market over the past few years. The
bank also has a strategic relationship with Jinan City Commercial Bank
which, at the time of its 11 percent acquisition, was the eighth-largest
commercial city bank in China.
Around the same time that Commonwealth was partnering with Chinese
commercial banks, it was also investing in mortgage brokers on the
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Commonwealth Bank
Broking a deal
In August 2007, the Commonwealth Bank proposed the acquisition of IWL
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Domestic dominance
As one of the biggest banks in Australia, it only makes sense that
Commonwealth would be dominant on the investment banking charts in its
native country. In 2007, on the Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters)
league tables for debt capital markets, Commonwealth placed second for all
Australian debt deals with USD$7.9 billion in proceeds coming from 24
deals. That represents 12 percent of the total market share in its home
country, a 4.4 percent increase from 2006, when the firm was ranked fourth
in all Australian debt deals. A large amount of these proceeds came from
Australian securitizations, a category in which the company ranked fifth
overall with five deals. The bank also broke into the Samurai bond market
in Japan for the first time in 2007, although it didn’t complete enough deals
to make the top 10. The proceeds due to Samurai bonds tripled in 2007,
reaching USD$16.9 billion.
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Commonwealth Bank
the firm was ranked No. 14 with 1.1 percent of the total market share. Over
the year, the firm increased its market share percentage by 2.7 percent.
GETTING HIRED
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Be alert
In the Asia Pacific region outside of Australia, Commonwealth has
international financial services in New Zealand, Fiji, China, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Wealth management operates in China,
Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore as well as in the U.K. Premium
business service jobs are available in global markets including Hong Kong,
Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Hanoi.
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Credit Suisse Investment
Banking Division
Global Headquarters:
THE STATS
Paradeplatz 8
8070 Zurich Employer Type: Division of Credit
Switzerland Suisse Group
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KEY COMPETITORS
CLIENTS
Citigroup
Corporate Clients
Deutsche Bank
Institutional & Individual Clients
Goldman Sachs
Institutional Clients
J.P. Morgan
Morgan Stanley
LOCATIONS IN UBS
ASIA PACIFIC
Main hubs EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Hong Kong
www.credit-suisse.com/careers
Singapore
Sydney, Australia
Tokyo, Japan
Other locations
Bangkok, Thailand
Beijing, China
Jakarta, Indonesia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Labuan, Malaysia
Makati City, Philippines
Melbourne, Australia
Mumbai, India
Seoul, South Korea
Shanghai, China
Taipei, Taiwan
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Credit Suisse Investment Banking Division
THE SCOOP
In the Asia Pacific region, the firm has 15 offices in 12 markets. Credit
Suisse has hubs in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Australia and Tokyo. Of
the firm’s net revenue for the Asia Pacific region, roughly 70 percent comes
from non-Japan Asia, with around 20 percent from Japan and 15 percent
from Australia. In the Asia Pacific region, the investment banking division
is responsible for about 80 percent of net revenue while private banking and
asset management bring in about 15 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
Indian opportunities
Credit Suisse views India as a promising market, given the significant
opportunities in both private banking and investment banking. In July
2007, Credit Suisse was granted a merchant banking license, allowing it to
provide a wide range of onshore underwriting and corporate finance
services in India. Credit Suisse has set up offices in a building in the Worli
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Credit Suisse Investment Banking Division
Impressing Asia
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Despite its problems in the credit market, Credit Suisse managed to rack up
an impressive number of awards during 2007 from a host of different
sources. One of the honors bestowed upon the bank was the title of Best
Foreign Investment Bank in Indonesia, an award given to the firm by both
The Asset in its November Triple A Country Awards and FinanceAsia in its
Country Awards for achievement. Credit Suisse also managed to gather
several trophies in The Banker’s annual investment banking awards, as it
was named Global Investment Bank of the Year, Best Leveraged Finance
House, Best High Yield Bond House and Best Convertibles House.
Credit Suisse may get its firmest footing yet in the burgeoning Chinese
economy in 2008 if it receives regulatory approval to go ahead with a
planned joint venture with Founder Securities. The venture would allow
Credit Suisse to offer domestic institutional brokerage and wealth
management services to Chinese citizens. The joint firm would also
sponsor and underwrite A-shares, and trade government and corporate
bonds. Credit Suisse would like to take a 33.3 percent stake in the proposed
venture—33.3 percent is the cap that any foreign company is allowed to
take in a joint securities venture under the new regulatory rules set into
effect on January 1, 2008.
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Credit Suisse Investment Banking Division
computer labs and 106 libraries across the region. In 2006, Credit Suisse
joined forces with the UN World Food Program to launch a “Food for
Education” initiative in Sri Lanka. Kitchen and food storage facilities were
constructed for 61 schools as part of these efforts, offering lunches to about
19,000 children.
In global equity underwriting, the firm held on to its No. 7 ranking in 2007,
working on 235 deals with total proceeds of USD$54 billion; the change in
market share was negligible, from 5.9 percent in 2006 to 6.2 percent in
2007. In global IPOs, the firm had a great year, jumping two spots to No.
2, underwriting 103 deals worth USD$24.3 billion. But in Asian (excluding
Japanese) equities, Credit Suisse fell five spots to No. 9 in 2007,
underwriting 48 deals worth USD$9.7 billion.
Six was the firm’s lucky number in mergers and acquisitions in 2007. In
announced global M&A deals, Credit Suisse moved up one spot to No. 6,
advising on 390 deals worth a total of USD$876 billion. It also moved up
one spot to No. 6 in announced U.S. M&A, with 168 deals worth
USD$328.6 billion. And in announced Asia (excluding Japan) M&A,
Credit Suisse held on to its No. 6 position, advising on 48 transactions with
deal proceeds of USD$26.4 billion.
Although not a huge market, New Zealand M&A was fruitful for the firm
in 2007, as it came in at No. 1 in announced Kiwi deals, advising on 6
transactions worth USD$4.7 billion. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse moved up
three spots to rank No. 8 in announced Chinese mergers and acquisitions,
working on 12 deals during 2007, and it held on to its No. 14 ranking in
announced Japanese M&A, advising on seven deals.
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GETTING HIRED
bank’s careers website for the Asia Pacific region. The campus recruiting
function of Credit Suisse recruits at a number of universities in Australia,
China, Japan, India, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. The firm
also hosts a campus recruiting web site for the Asia Pacific region. On this
site, Australia has its own page along with Japan, which is in Japanese.
Credit Suisse also recruits summer interns into Hong Kong, Singapore,
Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Melbourne and Sydney. The summer program,
which lasts 10 to 12 weeks, gives participants an experience similar to that
of the bank’s first year analysts. Interns are hired across the bank in a
number of different divisions.. For consideration, candidates need to
complete an application on the Credit Suisse web site.
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Credit Suisse Investment Banking Division
lengthy. Credit Suisse analysts and associates say they met with anywhere
from four to 10 people during multiple rounds of interviews. A banker from
the bank’s regional headquarters in Tokyo says there were “four or five
interviews, mostly with directors.” Another Tokyo employee had seven or
eight phone interviews plus three in-person interviews.
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Friendly folks
Insiders agree that folks at Credit Suisse are friendly. “People are smart,
driven and fun,” says one employee in Hong Kong, who adds that people
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work hard but know how to have fun. “Given it is an investment bank and
is bound to be a pressure-cooker environment, it is friendly,” says another
Hong Kong banker, who adds that people help one another. Another
contact says the culture varies within the bank from division to division and
by country. However, the employee adds that Credit Suisse has a “generally
friendly, inclusive environment” compared to “other banks with more
entrenched corporate cultures.”
Credit Suisse employees appreciate the fact that hours are generally
flexible. One insider says, “If I have to leave early one day for personal
reasons I can make up the work the next day by getting in early or skipping
lunch. As long as my job is done the managers don’t care about time in the
office.” Another employee agrees that face time is less important than
getting the job done. “We work around the markets on the trading floor,
hence the daylight hours are intense, but we rarely work weekends,” says
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Credit Suisse Investment Banking Division
the employee. This insider adds that Credit Suisse encourages employees to
have a life outside the workplace and spend time with their families.
Nice digs
Employees throughout Asia say Credit Suisse has nice offices. An
employee from Sydney says his workplace is pleasant without being too
fancy. “I feel comfortable bringing clients to the office,” says the
employee, “but I certainly don’t feel like the company wastes money on
fittings.” The Singapore office has what one person describes as “an
unusual open concept.” The banker says the office is “awkward at first, but
it works well once you get used to it.” One employee in Hong Kong says
the office has a fantastic view of the harbor. Another banker in Hong Kong
says the office is a “very nice and functional office.”
Continuing education
For the most part, employees praise Credit Suisse’s training. Employees’
only complaint about training is that they want more. A source from
Singapore says the training program at the start was excellent, but feels
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there isn’t much additional training until you are promoted to the next level.
The contact describes training as “more of an ‘on the job training’
approach.” Someone from the Sydney office agrees that “training is mostly
informal with some formal legal training.” However, the employee adds,
“The company supports me in any formal external training I wish to
complete.”
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Daiwa Securities Group
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Daiwa Securities Group
THE SCOOP
giant, this is an instance when taking second place doesn’t mean you’ve lost
the race. Daiwa is represented internationally with branches in North
America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The company operates through its 46
consolidated subsidiaries and handles investment banking business through
subsidiary Daiwa Securities SMBC, a joint venture launched with
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in 1999. Daiwa owns 60 percent of
Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo owns 40 percent.
Daiwa’s roots in Japan stretch back more than one hundred years when it
was launched in 1902 as Fujimoto Bill Broker. Over forty years, the
company’s business had grown substantially enough to change the name to
Fujimoto Securities Company. In the midst of World War II, in 1943,
Fujimoto merged with Nippon Trust Bank and switched to the moniker
Daiwa Securities—one of the “Big Four” of the securities market. In 1999,
the company launched Daiwa Securities SMBC and adopted a holding
company structure.
Today the many arms of Daiwa Securities Group handle the trading and
brokerage of securities and derivatives. Daiwa Securities SMBC
consistently ranks highly on the Thomson Financial (now Thomson
Reuters) league charts for debt and equity markets. Through its many
branches, the company also offers venture capital, corporate financing,
investment management and real estate leasing services.
A rough patch
Though its nearby neighbors in China are enjoying riding out a bull market,
things in Japan were decidedly bearish in 2007. Japan’s benchmark stock
average, the Nikkei 225, dropped approximately 11 percent in 2007 and
underwriting fees for Daiwa’s investment banking activities dropped from
JPY 25.1 billion in the third quarter of 2006 to JPY 5.1 billion in 2007.
Daiwa’s profits also followed the trend of the Japanese market, pulling
down the company’s earnings.
Analysts say that Daiwa needs to take better advantage of its partnership
with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, because the latter company has
more international ties that can be used to tap into the part of the Asian
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Daiwa Securities Group
economy that is still growing. Daiwa CEO Shigeharu Suzuki seems poised
to do just that, as he plots out a plan to increase revenue tenfold to JPY 500
billion over the next five years. Part of the expansion plan includes
branching out its private equity investments to include India, Indonesia and
Australia as well as expanding business to Vietnam.
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Daiwa Securities Group
over 60 deals. In the same category, domestic rival Nomura was able to
raise its market share approximately 10 percent, taking the top spot on the
charts.
The numbers in the category of Japanese IPOs were even grimmer. Daiwa
slipped to No. 3 in the rankings, behind J.P. Morgan and Nomura,
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relinquishing its first-place status from the previous year. The company lost
an astounding 23.6 percent of the market share to competitors, bringing in
only USD$487.6 million over 27 deals. Daiwa’s market share was 8.5
percent, far below Nomura and J.P. Morgan, which came in at 48.2 percent
and 26.1 percent, respectively.
In the completed M&A tables for Japan, Daiwa slipped from No. 5 in 2006
to No. 12 in 2007. The company advised on 101 deals, which were valued
at USD$9.4 billion, garnering 7 percent of the market share.
GETTING HIRED
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DBS Group
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DBS Group
THE SCOOP
Development banking
The Development Bank of Singapore, or DBS, is a titan in the Asian
financial world. DBS Group Holdings, Ltd. is the largest commercial
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DBS Bank is the main operating subsidiary of DBS Group. The bank has
consumer banking operations in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India and
Indonesia. In Singapore, the bank serves approximately five million
customers with 79 branches, and in Hong Kong, the bank serves one million
customers with 58 branches. Mainland China is relatively new territory for
the bank, as subsidiary DBS Bank China opened in May 2007 with
headquarters in Shanghai and plans to expand into an integrated branch
network (consumer, corporate and enterprise banking as well as investment
banking services) across the vast country. In Indonesia, DBS operates in
nine cities with 18 locations, is one of the largest trade finance banks and is
in the top five among foreign banks in wealth management.
After the 1998 acquisition of Singapore’s former Post Office Savings Bank
(now known simply as POSB), DBS operates 49 branches of the iconic
“friendly neighborhood banks” that have had a presence in Singapore for
over 130 years. Honoring both retail and investment banking, in June 2007,
DBS Bank was named Asiamoney’s “Best Domestic Bank,” “Best
Domestic Equity House” and “Best Domestic Debt House” in Singapore.
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DBS Group
in 1990 and has since come to manage a considerable amount of capital for
both private and institutional investors. In 2007, DBSAM purchased a 33
percent stake in China’s Changsheng Fund Management Company, the first
Asia-based asset management company purchase of a Chinese fund
management company. Changsheng was approved for the Qualified
Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) license in October 2007, giving
Changsheng further leeway to help clients invest their funds in overseas
markets.
Stalling on subprime
In the summer of 2007, as the collapse of the subprime market slowly
became evident, banks had to fess up about their holdings in the doomed
market. DBS was no exception. On August 7, the group disclosed that it
had about SGD$1.3 billion worth of collateralized debt obligations, a
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DBS Group
number which seemed steep but manageable in the wake of more extreme
losses by other banks. However, Asia Pacific brokerage and research firm
CLSA claimed that DBS had failed to fully disclose holdings totaling an
additional SGD$1.1 billion. CLSA went further, saying, “The bank’s
failure to provide full and complete disclosure has raised a black mark
against management transparency and corporate governance.”
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Though fourth-quarter numbers lagged slightly, the full year earnings for
the company reflected solid growth. 2007’s full year earnings came out 14
percent ahead of 2006’s, at a record SGD$2.49 billion. Net income also
rose 14 percent to SGD$4.11 billion as a result of strong performance in the
regional and housing loan market of Singapore. The company also boosted
its fee income by 27 percent due to its stockbroking activities, as well as
solid results in its wealth management division.
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DBS Group
In addition to community projects, DBS has lent a hand (and quite a few
machines) after a number of disasters in the past several years. When
SARS spread across Asia in 2003 and when the massive tsunami hit South
and Southeast Asia in 2004, DBS opened its ATMs and internet banking
channels for relief donations. Self-service banking channels for donations
were opened once again in 2008 when an earthquake hit China’s Sichuan
Province, as well as when Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar. In addition
to DBS’ own donations for both disasters, nearly SGD$3.7 million was
given through self-service banking channels in Singapore, with two-thirds
of that amount coming from internet banking donations. This donation
system is slated to continue on an ongoing basis for future disasters in the
region.
GETTING HIRED
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DBS Group
from a number of career tracks, the MAP lasts for 18 months. The program
is open to all disciplines and DBS stresses that “it is not necessary to have
a business or finance degree to join.” Fresh graduates and candidates with
less than two years’ work experience are invited to apply. According to the
site, approximately 30-50 graduates were recruited for the 2008 program.
Information on MAP can be found at www.dbs.com/careers/graduates and
information on FEP can be found at www.dbs.com/careers/fep.
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Deutsche Bank
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Deutsche Bank
THE SCOOP
Deutsche Bank’s CIB group oversees the firm’s capital markets business,
including the origination, sales and trading of capital markets products, in
tandem with the bank’s corporate advisory, corporate lending and
transaction banking businesses. It also oversees mergers and acquisitions
and gives general corporate finance advice primarily for global
corporations, financial institutions, and sovereign and multinational
organizations.
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Deutsche Bank
In the decades that followed, Deutsche grew rapidly, adding retail banking
services and international offices in New York, Paris, Tokyo, London and
Moscow. Its first U.S. purchase came in 1999, with the acquisition of
Bankers Trust. Two years later, Deutsche made its public debut on the New
York Stock Exchange; in 2002, it bought U.S. asset manager Scudder
Investments. These days, it’s casting its net even wider. In 2006, Deutsche
completed the acquisition of Russian investment bank United Financial
Group.
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Deutsche Bank
Award show
In 2007, the firm had a good year in mergers and acquisitions advisory.
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Deutsche Bank has also won recognition for many of its activities in Asia,
including the award for Bank of the Year 2007 by IFR Asia. In May 2008,
Deutsche Bank was deemed No. 1 Global Private Bank in Asia in
AsiaMoney’s Private Banking Poll. At FinanceAsia’s Achievement Awards
in December 2007, the bank was chosen as Best International Bond House.
AsiaRisk named Deutsche Bank Best Currency House—Asia at its Industry
Awards 2007, and it ranked the bank as the No. 1 Derivatives House, Asia
in its End User Survey in June 2008 for the second consecutive year.
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Deutsche Bank
Trading.
No European immunity
Like many banks, Deutsche Bank wasn’t able to dodge the fallout from the
U.S. subprime and credit crisis. In fall 2007, it reported a write-down of
EUR 1.5 billion (USD$2.1 billion) on structured credit products and
securities backed by residential mortgages. Though no one likes to take a
USD$2 billion hit, relative to the potential losses that it could have incurred,
the losses looked almost rosy—especially when coupled with third quarter
net profit, which exceeded EUR 1.4 billion (USD$2 billion), a number that
was more or less on point with its profit targets for the year.
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Deutsche Bank
The company posted a 7 percent increase in net income for the full year,
with total net income for the year rounding out at EUR 6.5 billion. Net
revenue was also modestly higher for the year, by a margin of 8 percent at
EUR 30.7 billion. The change was driven by strong advisory revenue of
EUR 314 million and increases in global transaction banking of 12 percent
for the year. Again, the investment banking unit trailed behind the rest of
the company, posting a 43 percent decline (EUR 514 million) in pre-tax
profits in the final quarter.
The first quarter of 2008 wasn’t as bright, as Deutsche reported its first
quarterly loss in five years. The firm took EUR 2.7 billion ($4.2 billion) in
leveraged buyouts and asset-backed securities write-downs during the
quarter, and posted a net loss of EUR 131 million, versus the EUR 2.12
billion profit it booked in the first quarter of 2007. The good news was the
firm was not hit nearly as hard as some if its rivals. During the first quarter
of 2008, Deutsche eliminated less than 1,000 investment banking jobs,
compared to the several thousands of cuts that competitors such as Citi and
Merrill Lynch were forced to make.
GETTING HIRED
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Deutsche Bank
professionals. The web site also has a section with frequently asked
questions such as “What is Deutsche Bank’s dress code?” (Answer:
business casual.)
Deutsche Bank also recruits students from overseas into Asia. For a
number of years, the firm has targeted students at U.S. and U.K. universities
for roles in Global Markets and Global Banking (only in corporate finance)
in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. In 2007, this was extended to cover
Australian and Canadian students.
While most analysts are hired into Singapore, Hong Kong, Mainland China,
Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the firm also hires a smaller number of
analysts into Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
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Fortis
LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC
Hong Kong • Singapore •
Guangzhou • Shanghai • Taipei •
Tokyo • Sydney • Bangkok •
Beijing • Dubai • Hanoi •
Ho Chi Minh City • Jakarta •
Kuala Lumpur • Manila • Mumbai •
Seoul
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Fortis
THE SCOOP
world. It’s especially mighty on its home turf in the Benelux region: Fortis
maintains dual headquarters in Belgium and the Netherlands, and its stocks
trade on both the Brussels and Amsterdam exchanges with a secondary
listing in Luxembourg. Fortis was formed in 1990, the product of a
groundbreaking cross-border merger. The deal began in the Netherlands
when VSB (a Dutch bank) and N.V. AMEV (a Dutch insurance company)
combined. A few months later, the combined Dutch entity merged with AG
Group, a Belgian insurer, completing the world’s first cross-border financial
merger.
Regional offerings
Globally, Fortis divides its business into four lines: asset management and
private banking, insurance, merchant banking and retail banking. In Asia,
Fortis is active in private banking, merchant banking, insurance and asset
management.
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Fortis
The Investment Banking division, which has offices in Hong Kong and
Singapore, offers corporate finance, global export and project finance, and
private equity services. The Global Markets business, centered in Hong
Kong, includes more than 100 professionals and serves corporate,
institutional, retail and private clients. Its activities include carbon banking,
equity derivatives, forex and rates, commodity derivatives, global securities
financing and sales and marketing.
Double Dutch
Fortis made headlines in 2007 for its role in a major bank merger: the
acquisition of Dutch bank ABN AMRO by a consortium including Fortis,
Banco Santander and the Royal Bank of Scotland. The merger story was
something of a nail-biter, as the consortium vied with British bank Barclays
for the top bid. Finally, Fortis and company prevailed, offering EUR 70
billion to take over ABN AMRO.
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Fortis
What prompted the change in leadership? For one thing, the consortium
deal to buy ABN AMRO took place just as the subprime crisis set off a
global credit crunch. Votron’s decision to chip in EUR 24 billion for ABN
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Beyond Benelux
Fortis has established a goal for 2009: generate 30 percent of its revenue
outside the Benelux region by the end of the year. As part of this plan, the
bank opened two new Asia Pacific offices in early 2008, one in Sydney and
one in Tokyo.
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Fortis
place. According to Fortis, the deal will mean greater access to markets in
China and elsewhere in Asia, thanks to Ping An’s more than 300,000 sales
agents and 70,000 full-time employees.
Integrating in Asia
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The ink is dry on the deals between Fortis and ABN AMRO, but the
integration of the two banks’ businesses will continue through 2010. By
mid-2009, all private banking activities outside the Netherlands are planned
to be integrated. In Asia, the firm appointed Barend Janssens as the new
Asia head of the combined private bank, effective January 2009. Janssens,
an ABN AMRO veteran and former head of its Asia private banking
division, will be based in Singapore and will report to two Fortis
executives: Asia Pacific CEO Luc Henrard and global private banking CEO
Chris Vogelzang.
Janssens is starting his new job with a lofty goal: he aims to grow Fortis’
private bank to a leadership position in Asia by 2010. In a press release,
regional CEO Henrard described Asia as “a key growth market for Fortis,”
and noted that the addition of ABN AMRO’s private banking unit would
automatically make the combined business one of Asia’s top 10 private
banks.
GETTING HIRED
Fortissimo!
Fortis maintains an area of its career web site dedicated to careers in Asia
at www.fortis.com/career/asia. Jobseekers are invited to fill out a profile in
order to have vacancies e-mailed to them. The firm notes that its regional
headquarters for Asia are in Hong Kong, but that opportunities with the firm
are expanding as the firm itself expands in India, Australia and Japan.
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GF Securities
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GF Securities
THE SCOOP
Backdoor bust
In September 2006, GF’s top executives wanted to follow in the footsteps
of the successful launches of financial companies into the public domain.
However, the firm was limited by a Chinese regulatory rule that it must
have three successive years of profits in order to launch an IPO on either of
the main stock exchanges in China. GF’s profits had risen in 2004 and
2005, but in 2003 the firm suffered losses that would remain a stumbling
block. To skirt the government’s criteria for a public listing, GF launched
a plan to attempt a “backdoor” listing, one in which it would execute a
reverse takeover of a company which met the regulations, and then launch
the IPO under that company’s record.
GF’s reverse takeover target was the infrastructure firm Yan Bian Highway
Construction, which operated out of the northeastern city of Yanji. The
agreement was that GF would swap 0.83 of its shares for every one share
of Yan Bian Highway. This would have given GF 95.4 percent ownership
of the construction company. After fifteen of GF’s biggest shareholders had
owned Yan Bian Highway for 12 to 36 months (based on regulatory
approval), the company would be able to launch an IPO under the name GF
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GF Securities
The collaboration with Yan Bian Highway was on track when it hit an
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Pumping up profits
With all the new opportunities available in domestic markets, the Chinese
people were engaged in a record amount of trading in 2007, driving fee-
based incomes up—mainly among brokerages.
For two of GF’s investments, Jilin Aodong Medicine Industry Group and
Liaoning Chengda Company, profits went through the roof in 2007, with an
estimated rise of nearly 750 percent. Jilin Aodong and Liaoning Chengda
are both publicly traded companies which have representation on both the
Shenzhen and Shanghai exchanges. However, industry insiders say that the
rise in profits may not be completely self-sufficient. The claim is that
profits of both Jilin Aodong and Liaoning Chengda are merely a reflection
of GF’s profits which have been flowed through the balance sheets of the
smaller companies. In this way, GF Securities can drive up the price of the
two businesses, which in turn drives up its profits. This is technically legal
by Chinese regulatory rules. GF is the third-largest investor in Jilin Aodong
and the second-largest in Liaoning Chengda.
GETTING HIRED
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GF Securities
fails, you might have better luck checking out the “subsidiaries and
branches” link on the site, which lists contact information for offices
throughout China that might be hiring.
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Goldman Sachs
Regional Headquarters
THE STATS
Cheung Kong Center, 68th Floor
2 Queens Road Central Employer Type: Public Company
Central, Hong Kong Ticker Symbol: GS (NYSE)
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EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
www.gs.com/careers
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Goldman Sachs
THE SCOOP
Tokyo and Hong Kong. Goldman Sachs in Asia excluding Japan has its
headquarters in Hong Kong, and seven additional offices in Beijing,
Mumbai, Bangalore, Singapore, Taipei, Seoul and Shanghai. Its operations
include approximately 1,800 employees working in the firm’s key Asian
businesses: corporate finance, private equity and principal investing, fixed
income, currency and commodities, equities, investment research and
investment management.
In the first quarter of 2008, Goldman finally felt the ripple effect of the
troubled markets. The firm’s first quarter earnings were down 53 percent
to USD$1.51 billion. Though disappointing, Goldman’s earnings were still
above analysts’ expectations, and compared with the situation of similar
companies, Goldman’s earnings decline seemed almost rosy news,
reflecting the dismal deterioration of market conditions over the past year.
(Goldman’s earnings report came out just one day after the precipitous
collapse of former competitor Bear Stearns.)
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Goldman Sachs
Singapore was Goldman Sachs’ third Asian office, opening in 1989. The
office serves as a hub for Goldman’s operations throughout the ASEAN
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region.
Beijing and Shanghai have been home to Goldman Sachs offices since
1994, and the firm quickly built an investment banking franchise
throughout China, working with both companies and the Chinese
government. It was the first foreign investment bank to obtain a license to
trade China B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and was one of the
first Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) in China. Goldman
Sachs offers investment banking services to domestic mainland China
clients through Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Company Ltd., a joint
venture with Beijing Gao Hua Securities, a local securities firm that
Goldman helped to establish in 2004. Goldman Sachs Gao Hua currently
underwrites locally listed A-shares and corporate and convertible bonds; it
also offers domestic financial advisory services.
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Goldman Sachs
net-worth clients and USD$9 billion from the firm and its employees. This
was the firm’s sixth global, diversified fund dedicated to making privately
negotiated equity investments. The fund, which was the largest ever raised
for private equity by a Wall Street firm, will invest across a broad range of
industries in Asia, Europe and the U.S.
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Still on top
Goldman Sachs is at the top of the investment banking game, and there’s no
better proof of this than by taking a look at its consistently high standings
on the Thomson Financial league tables (now called the Thomson Reuters
league tables, following the announcement of a merger between Thomson
and Reuters). In 2007, Goldman managed to remain the top M&A advisor
in the world, though it did fall out of the top spot on several other key areas.
In global announced M&A, Goldman again ranked No. 1, with 492 deals
that had a total value of USD$1.4 trillion, which was good enough for an
impressive 31.7 percent of the total market share. Goldman also topped the
announced U.S. M&A table, but slipped a spot in announced European
M&A, coming in at No. 3 in 2007 after finishing at No. 2 the year before.
Goldman moved up in the Asia excluding Japan announced M&A table,
coming in at No. 2, working on 55 deals worth a total of USD$60.8 billion
(in 2006, the firm was No. 4 on the table). In Chinese announced M&A,
Goldman slipped a couple of spots, falling to No. 3 in 2007 from No. 1,
advising on 14 deals worth a total of USD$8.96 billion.
In 2007, the firm fell from the No. 1 spot in global equity underwriting to
No. 4, with USD$70.6 billion in proceeds from 233 deals. The firm’s
percentage of the total market share dropped from 9.7 percent in 2006 to 8.1
percent in 2007. In Asian equity and equity-related deals (excluding
Japan), Goldman also fell from the top spot, coming in at No. 3. The firm’s
49 deals in the region were worth a total of USD$20 billion.
On the debt capital markets charts, Goldman Sachs made gains in some key
categories. In international bond underwriting, Goldman placed No. 8 in
2007, up from No. 12 in 2006. Altogether, the firm’s proceeds from
international bond deals were USD$160 billion, representing 4.2 percent of
the total market share. Goldman also rose in the ranks in global high-yield
debt underwriting, moving up three spots to No. 5 overall in 2007, with 44
deals worth a total of USD$13.8 billion.
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Goldman Sachs
GETTING HIRED
“The firm is selective because they want to make sure they get the right
people for the job,” which means potential hires go through “a rigorous
interview process that not only focuses on the candidate’s academic and
prior job experience, but also their cultural fit within the organization.” An
executive director adds that the process is “aimed at ensuring a strong long-
term match between the candidate and the firm.”
Goldman often has a large pool of applicants from which to choose. Even
interns at other banks are known to chase Goldman. They “always choose
Goldman [for full-time employment] over the firm they interned for,” a
source explains. The firm has also “been attracting U.S. expats” to its Asia
offices, “especially given the recent market downturn.”
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Goldman Sachs
A serious opportunity
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“Goldman Sachs takes its summer program very seriously,” and insiders
say “a large percentage of our [full-time] intake is fulfilled by summer
interns.” In fact, the firm “would prefer to complete all its hiring needs by
giving offers to its summers,” and “summer analyst and associate
acceptance rates are high.”
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Goldman Sachs
A focus on training
There’s “a lot of internal training” at Goldman, including “weekly industry
and product training lunches within the division and frequent training
sessions worldwide.” Ongoing development is such “an important focus.”
One contact in Hong Kong says his office will “even bring in New York’s
team to train on advanced M&A and corporate finance initiatives.
Successful deal teams will organize case studies to show success in
executing and pricing a deal.”
Managers play a role in their employees’ education, too. “For the most part,
managers at Goldman are very approachable and go out of their way to
mentor you.” However, one source says the firm’s Asia operations are still
catching up to other Goldman regions when it comes to formal mentoring
opportunities. “I want to see a better mentor/mentee and buddy system,
which I know exists in the U.S. and Europe, but is less developed and
formal in Asia.” But while “different managers have different styles,”
sources say there’s “very little hierarchy,” and relationships are “based on
mutual respect.” Once in a while, though, some managers can be “a bit
over-demanding when things get urgent.”
As for the legendarily tough hours, they are “pretty bad across the board.”
“Everyone, analysts to managing directors, works long hours, because
there’s a lot of work to do,” says an associate. “There is no face time,
though.” Agrees another source, “We don’t require people to stay late if
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Goldman Sachs
they don’t have work to do. You often see vice presidents and associates
staying later than analysts. That’s not an unusual thing.” A source adds,
“As with most investment banks, hours at Goldman are long, but having
spent time at competitors previously, Goldman hours are more productive
and efficient.” While most respondents say they work weekends once a
month, if not more, “when there are no live deals or pitches, calls can be
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taken at home.”
Many backgrounds
A “strong women’s network” is in place at Goldman, supported by a “strong
consensus in the office” to support diversity. One Hong Kong source says
Goldman employees have “very morally correct attitudes” when it comes to
appreciating diversity, and in most offices, there’s “a very large female
workforce,” especially “at the analyst level.”
While employees “are used to working with multiple races and different
cultural backgrounds,” some suggest more could be done to raise “cultural
awareness of such issues, especially at the senior level, to help in promoting
recruitment and retention of women and minorities.” As for lesbian, gay, bi
and transgender employees at the firm, one analyst says there are “gay and
lesbian organizations” that “are supported and receive Goldman’s
endorsement.”
Ascots, anyone?
Insiders give satisfactory, though not outstanding, marks to Goldman’s Asia
office locations. One analyst appreciates having “decent space” within his
cube, and a source in Hong Kong says the firm’s “Cheung Kong Center is
a nice building, but could use some more amenities and restaurants nearby.”
Dress code varies slightly from office to office, with Hong Kong sources
reporting “formal always.” A Hong Kong insider adds that his office has
“no ties normally, but [sometimes] ties are still worn.” The firm adds that
the dress code can depend on your role and your division within Goldman.
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Guotai Junan Securities
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Guotai Junan Securities
THE SCOOP
Chinese collaborations
Guotai Junan Securities is one of the top three domestic security houses in
China. Formed in 1999, Guotai Junan was the result of collaboration
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between two companies, Guotai Securities and J&A Securities, who were
operating small businesses before the financial boom hit. Today, Guotai
Junan has considerable clout in the ever-growing Chinese market with
capital of RMB 4.7 billion, three subsidiaries and 113 business offices
spread through 28 provinces of China. The securities firm is expected to
launch an IPO sometime during the 2008 fiscal year.
Ping buys in
Guotai Junan’s three main shareholders are Shanghai State-Owned Asset
Management, Central Huijin Investment Company and Shenzhen
Investment Holdings Corporation. Recent activity in the buying and selling
of shares of Guotai Junan seem to indicate that these companies have their
money in exactly the right place. In December 2007, China Ping An Trust
& Investment Company, the investment arm of Ping An Insurance
Company of China, made a small purchase into the securities firm,
purchasing a 0.16 percent stake for RMB 173.83 million from Sinopec
Shanghai Petrochemical Company. The purchase represents a huge jump in
value for the shares, which were valued at just RMB 7.08 million the year
before. Sinopec booked an RMB 165.56 million profit off the deal.
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Guotai Junan Securities
Making it in M&A
Guotai Junan Securities may not have the international clout of UBS or
Goldman Sachs, but it does appear on the Thomson Financial (now
Thomson Reuters) league tables for M&A in categories on its home turf. In
the fourth quarter charts for mid-market M&A deals with Hong Kong
involvement up to USD$100 million, Guotai Junan ranked No. 15 in 2007,
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with a modest three deals that earned 0.8 percent of the market share. In
the M&A financial advisory category, the firm ranked lower, but was able
to tally up a sizeable increase over its numbers from the year before. In the
China rankings for M&A financial advisory, Guotai Junan ranked No. 20
with a value of USD$1.7 billion, approximately 26 percent of the market
share. In both rank and value, this represents a huge jump from 2006, when
the firm was No. 38 on the table and earned only USD$207 million.
Dabbling in derivatives
Guotai Junan Securities was the first of the domestic Chinese brokerages to
wade into the complex waters of financial products such as derivatives. In
January 2008, it announced it would seek to be even more of a leader in this
field by collaborating with IBM to create a risk-management system for
security trading and fund management. The new system will allow the
company to monitor risk in an environment that may be vulnerable to
volatility. Zuo Feng, the chief compliance officer of Guotai Junan, says that
the new platform will help the company keep up with its new international
competition. “Risk management, internal control and compliance will be
some of the most important business developments in the Chinese securities
industry in the years to come. To compete in this environment, Guotai
Junan Securities needs to speak the international language of risk
management.”
Secure earnings
Despite tough competition from outside interlopers, Guotai Junan has
greatly benefited from the surge in stock trading in the past few years. The
firm placed second behind China Galaxy Securities for the most stock
trading in China in 2007, with stocks contributing 75 percent of its earnings
during the year. There were 21 Chinese firms who had an annual stock
turnover of more than RMB 1 trillion in 2007, which set a record for the
country, and trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges
increased threefold and fourfold, respectively.
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Guotai Junan Securities
GETTING HIRED
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Haitong Securities
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Haitong Securities
THE SCOOP
brokerage to enter the stock market under the technique commonly referred
to as a “backdoor listing.” Haitong was able to skirt Chinese government
regulations by merging with Shanghai Urban Agro-Business Co., Ltd.,
changing the name of the company to Haitong Securities Co., Ltd. and
launching its IPO on the Shanghai stock market. The backdoor move was
considered a necessary fundraising measure in order to compete with
international firms which are entering into the securities business in China.
Haitong was unable to comply with the rule that firms have to have three
consecutive years of earnings in order to become public.
Haitong serves two million people on the Chinese mainland through its 124
domestic branches. The brokerage provides securities underwriting,
brokerage, trading, investment advisory, research, and investment fund and
asset management services to its clients. It also provides an outlet for the
sales and purchase of securities, agency of debt service and dividend
distribution of securities, custody and authentication of securities, agency
of registration and accounts opening, and proprietary trading of securities.
In July 2007, Haitong got approval from the China Securities Regulatory
Commission to expand its company into Hong Kong, giving the company
new access to the international financial world. The new company has been
started with capital of HKD$100 million and is named Haitong (Hong
Kong) Financial Holdings.
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Haitong Securities
Taking off
In addition to the successful launch of its public stock, Haitong Securities
has posted some impressive numbers for 2007. Year-ending numbers put
the company’s net profits for the year at approximately RMB 5.46 billion,
an increase of almost RMB 4.8 billion from 2006. These numbers reflect
an eightfold increase in profits for Haitong, and an incredible 32-fold profit
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But in a market that only three years ago was plagued by scandals and
regulations violations, enthusiasm for a surging stock market is not likely to
drop off any time soon. Securities companies earned approximately RMB
79.36 billion in 2007, a 373 percent increase over earnings from the
previous year.
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Haitong Securities
Branching out
The results so far have seemed to hint at a rosy future for Haitong
Securities. However, if the firm wants to stay competitive with domestic
competitors like chief rival CITIC Securities, it must expand its business
beyond the shores of mainland China. The firm gained permission from the
China Securities Regulatory Commission to do just that in January 2008,
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when it was approved to invest overseas on behalf of its clients under the
rules of the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor scheme (QDII). In
August 2007, Fortis Haitong Investment Management was also granted
approval to launch products under QDII.
GETTING HIRED
Good luck
Haitong’s main web site at www.htsec.com is only in simplified Chinese,
with no English links in sight and no clear contact information, so brush up
on your Chinese-language skills. Fortis Haitong Investment Management
has an English page at www.hftfund.com but doesn’t have a hiring page
either. You could potentially send your resume or CV to the address listed,
but a better idea might be to e-mail hr@hftfund.com for more information
before blindly sending anything.
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HDFC Bank
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HDFC Bank
THE SCOOP
Housing works
Founded by H.T. Parekh and incorporated in 1977, the Housing
Development Finance Company (HDFC) initially aimed to provide long-
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term financing for home ownership. During the early 1990s, the Indian
economy went through one of its lowest phases—foreign exchange reserves
were down to USD$975 million and inflation was at a whopping 16
percent. In a historic act, the Indian government decided to allow private
investors into most sectors. Sensing the urgency, India’s centralized
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) threw open the banking sector to private
players as well.
HDFC was the first to apply and get RBI approval, setting up a commercial
bank in 1994 and renaming the company HDFC Bank. The bank was
formally inaugurated in Mumbai in January 1995, and went public with an
IPO of INR 500 million in the same year. In 1999, HDFC became the first
bank to introduce international debit cards in India, and in 2000 was the
first bank in India to introduce SMS-based mobile banking. Another major
milestone came in February 2000, when HDFC acquired private-sector
bank Times Bank Limited for INR 2.3 billion (USD$53.89 million),
expanding its geographic reach and customer base throughout India.
As operations increased, HDFC headed abroad and was listed on the New
York Stock Exchange on July 1, 2001, raising INR 7.1 billion (USD$166.3
million). In 2001, HDFC also became the first private-sector bank
authorized to collect income tax on behalf of the Indian central government.
Order of operations
Today, HDFC is the third-largest bank by market value in India, with a
customer base of 8.7 million customers and INR 1.25 trillion (USD$29.29
billion) in assets. HDFC has 1,229 branches in 444 cities across India.
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HDFC Bank
HDFC made the move to acquire one of its competitors, Centurion Bank of
Punjab, for INR 95.1 billion (USD$2.4 billion) in February 2008. The
takeover was the biggest in Indian financial history. With the acquisition,
HDFC increases its employee base to 30,500, gains greater access into rural
Punjab and takes on assets of more than INR 1.5 trillion.
The bank also garnered international respect when it brought home the Dun
& Bradstreet American Express Corporate Award 2007 honor of Best Bank.
The awards rank companies based on size and growth, taking into account
total income, net profit, net worth, growth in total income and growth in net
profit. Also in 2007, HDFC was named one of India’s Most Innovative
Companies in a survey by India’s Business Today magazine and consulting
firm Monitor Group, and received the Financial Express-Ernst & Young
Award in the Best Bank in the Private Sector category as well as the Best
Corporate Social Responsibility Practice Award from the Bombay Stock
Exchange and the Nasscom Foundation.
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HDFC Bank
GETTING HIRED
Passion required
At HDFC’s careers page at www.hdfc.com/we_careers.asp, you can learn
about the firm’s hiring record (“We have the lowest employee turnover rate
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in the industry,” HDFC boasts on its site) and what sort of candidates it’s
looking for—the site mentions “young, talented” individuals who have
“passion to excel and can fit into our organizational culture and value
system.” Candidates can also check current vacancies on the site and apply
online.
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HSBC Holdings
8 Canada Square
THE STATS
London, E14 5HQ
United Kingdom Employer Type: Public Company
Phone: +44-020-7991-8888 Ticker Symbol: HSBA (LSE)
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HSBC Holdings
THE SCOOP
HSBC’s roots are truly international, going back to 1865, when the
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation opened dual offices in
Shanghai and London. The bank’s initial expansion was in the East, with
branches opening across China and Southeast Asia. From there, its reach
spread to India, Europe and North America. Its first Middle Eastern
acquisition came in 1959, with the purchase of the British Bank of the
Middle East. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, HSBC grew by
making deals, buying up other Asian banks and opening new offices in
Canada and Australia. Hongkong and Shanghai Banking—and its many
subsidiaries—were consolidated in 1991 with the formation of HSBC
Holdings PLC.
The new holding company continued adding to its portfolio, buying several
European banks (including Midland Bank and Credit Commercial de
France). Latin America was the final frontier: HSBC bought a majority
stake in Mexico’s Grupo Financiero Bital in 2002. An even bigger deal
came the next year when HSBC purchased Household International, a U.S.
provider of consumer finance and credit cards, for a whopping USD$14.2
billion. In 2005, the firm bought 9.9 percent of Ping An Insurance, China’s
second largest life insurance company (HSBC already owned 10 percent of
Ping An, bringing its stake up to nearly 20 percent). HSBC will be
expanding its presence in Central America in coming years, thanks to its
2006 agreement to acquire the Panama-based Grupo Banistmo SA, the
region’s leading banking group. Headquartered in London, HSBC today
has nearly 10,000 offices in 83 countries, making its motto, “the world’s
local bank,” pretty accurate.
Global powerhouse
In 2006, HSBC reported nearly 50 percent of its pre-tax profits from Asia,
the Middle East, Latin America and other emerging markets. In its year-end
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HSBC Holdings
report, the firm said that it expected this percentage to rise even higher over
the next several years, because these economies are expected to grow faster
than those in developed markets, “and therefore, we will concentrate
investment primarily in these markets in the form of both organic
development and acquisition.”
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HSBC stayed true to its word when it announced in late 2006 that it would
acquire an additional 10 percent share in Techcombank, Vietnam’s third-
largest joint stock bank, bringing its ownership interest to 20 percent. Then,
in March 2007, HSBC said that it was making plans to double the size of
its operations in China, opening as many as 40 new offices during the year
and making 1,000 additional hires between 2007 and 2008.
Restructuring I-banking
Business at HSBC is divided into four core areas: personal financial
services, commercial banking, private banking, and corporate, investment
banking and markets (CIBM). The bank’s commercial banking arm
provides loans, credit, insurance, investments, merchant banking,
mortgages, financing, risk management and securities services to small,
medium-sized and middle-market companies.
The CIBM operations were restructured in February 2006 and split into
four product lines: Global Markets, Global Banking, Global Transaction
Banking and Group Investment Businesses. Global Markets includes
foreign exchange, fixed income, derivatives, equities and metals sales and
trading. Global Banking offers corporate and institutional banking, sector
management, investment banking, project and export finance and asset and
structured finance. Global Transaction Banking includes payments and
cash management, trade services, supply chain, securities services and
wholesale banknotes businesses. Finally, Group Investment Businesses
manages investment solutions. This reorganization was aimed at increasing
profit by reducing costs in CIBM.
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HSBC Holdings
bad loans to USD$10.56 billion, which made personal banking profit in the
U.S. fall by USD$725 million.
HSBC went into damage control mode, and HSBC North America and
HSBC Finance head Bobby Mehta, who had joined the firm when it bought
Household, announced his resignation. Mehta was replaced by Brendan
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HSBC Holdings
Reporting on HSBC’s acquisition, The New York Times said, “HSBC, which
followed global rivals Citigroup, Standard Chartered and ABN AMRO to
acquire a Taiwan bank, will focus on expanding two competitive but
profitable businesses: wealth management and small-medium enterprises
investing in China.”
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Under the terms of the deal, HSBC is required to establish a local subsidiary
within three years of completion or one year after HSBC’s total assets in
Taiwan exceed USD$13.9 billion, whichever is earlier. The new company
will have a minimum capitalization of approximately USD$309 million.
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HSBC Holdings
Back in black
Despite enduring what its chairman Stephen Green called “extraordinary
strain,” including its share of subprime mortgage issues, HSBC managed to
come out in the black for 2007. In the face of USD$2.1 billion in write-
downs related to subprime credit exposure and other factors, the bank still
ended up with a USD$19.1 billion profit for the year, up from USD$15.8
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billion in 2006. The firm’s asset management unit had a good year, booking
total operating income of USD$1.34 billion, up from USD$1.07 billion in
2006. And the bank’s private banking group—which encompasses its
investment banking, corporate banking and insurance services—brought in
record results, including a USD$1.5 billion profit, up 6.2 percent from
2006.
HSBC was handed a number of awards in 2007 as well. The Banker named
the firm Interest Rate Derivatives House of the Year. Euromoney honored
HSBC with two awards: Best Cash Management House and Best Risk
Management House. Most strikingly, in 2008, the firm came in at No. 1 on
the Forbes 2000, a list of the world’s largest companies measured by sales,
profits, assets and market value. It was the first time that a non-U.S.-based
firm topped the list.
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HSBC Holdings
programs. All positions can be applied for online, where the system will
save your information for future applications.
Interns, too, get their own area on the site. For that program, HSBC accepts
applications “from candidates from any degree subject background,” but try
to give the bank “as much detail as you can” regarding your qualifications,
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Hyundai Securities
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Hyundai Securities
THE SCOOP
For many years Hyundai Securities was part of Hyundai, one of the massive
South Korean family-run conglomerates (known in Korean as “chaebol”),
founded in 1947 by Chung Ju-yung and his brothers. Initially, the firm was
a simple construction company, but it soon expanded into other industries,
eventually becoming the largest chaebol in South Korea. In the wake of the
1997 Asian financial crisis, many Hyundai businesses were spun off,
including the Hyundai Automotive Group, the Hyundai Heavy Industries
Group and the Hyundai Group.
More restructuring followed upon Chung Ju-yung’s death in 2001 and the
Hyundai Group’s companies continued to be split apart. A consortium led
by American insurance giant American International Group (AIG) made a
USD$800 million bid for Hyundai Securities, Hyundai Investment Trust
and Securities and Hyundai Investment Trust Management. After lengthy
negotiations that lasted more than a year, the deal ground to a halt, sidelined
by the consortium’s undervaluing of Hyundai Securities and U.S. concerns
about South Korea’s openness toward foreign investment.
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Hyundai Securities
Hyundai Securities Europe Ltd. works with European companies and South
Korean companies based in Europe, while Hyundai Securities America Inc.
provides underwriting, dealing and brokering of South Korean stocks and
bonds. It also provides corporate financial services and works with U.S.-
based institutional investors who wish to invest in South Korean
companies. Finally, Hyundai Securities Asia Ltd. works outside South
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Korea to offer equity and fixed income brokerage and corporate finance
services in the rest of Asia. Headquartered in Seoul, Hyundai Securities is
led by Chairman and CEO Kim Joong-Woong, and President and CEO
Choi Kyung-Soo.
Ready to grow
According to Hyundai Securities, it’s on a mission: by 2010, the bank plans
to have KRW 5 trillion in equity, KRW 150 trillion in client assets and a 20
percent return on equity.
In order to meet these goals, Hyundai Securities has been ramping up its
infrastructure and unrolling new products in recent years. In 2006, the bank
made a major change to its wealth management division when it introduced
cash management accounts (CMAs); since then, Hyundai Securities has
begun offering MSN Messenger trading, online teleconference investment
advisory services and two-way communication TV teleconference trading
services. It has also invested heavily in IT infrastructure, investing KRW
8.9 billion in 2006 and 2007 and setting aside an additional KRW 40 billion
to build a new online system that will be expanded after South Korea’s
Capital Market Consolidation Act takes effect in January 2009. The act
moves the South Korean economy away from banking and manufacturing
toward a capital-market focused economy.
A few days later, market sources reported that Hyundai Motor Group might
try to acquire Hyundai Securities instead. The news caused Hyundai
Securities’ stock price to soar 6.8 percent, but in February, Hyundai Motor
resolved its valuation issues and went through with the original Shinheung
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Hyundai Securities
deal, paying KRW 209 billion for a 30 percent share and leaving Hyundai
Securities in the cold.
To stay ahead of the game, Hyundai Securities has set up a task force to
investigate the possibility of opening an asset management subsidiary. If
Hyundai applies for an asset management permit, its plans will be
scrutinized carefully by South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service.
GETTING HIRED
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ICICI Bank
Representative offices
Bangladesh
China
Indonesia
Malaysia
Thailand
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ICICI Bank
THE SCOOP
and representatives from several Indian industries. Their goal was to create
a financial institution that could provide project financing for Indian
businesses. By the 1990s, ICICI had outgrown its original mission, offering
diversified financial services to customers and clients around the world.
With total assets of INR 4.86 trillion worldwide as of March 31, 2008,
ICICI Bank is India’s second-largest bank. It has more than 1,300 offices
and 3,950 ATMs in India, plus international operations in 18 countries
including branches in Hong Kong, Singapore and Sri Lanka. ICICI offers
a full range of banking products and financial services, including corporate
banking, retail banking, investment banking, insurance, venture capital and
asset management.
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ICICI Bank
enterprises) group. During 2007 the bank’s SME customer base rose 50
percent, and by the close of the year over 580 ICICI branches offered SME
services.
ICICI’s rural banking efforts are managed by the rural, micro-banking and
agri-business group, which offers microfinance, agricultural banking and
other products and services aimed at India’s rural population. Through this
group ICICI offers crop loans, equipment financing, capital loans, savings,
investment and insurance products. During 2007, the bank unrolled new
loan products for rural educational institutions, and is expanding its rural
housing finance programs. According to ICICI, it’s operating on a “no
white spaces” strategy—it aims to build an ICICI “touch point” within 10
kilometers of any customer. The international banking group oversees
ICICI’s operations outside as India, provides international trade finance and
correspondent banking and offers banking for non-resident Indians (NRIs).
ICICI has developed a broad menu of NRI products and services, and as of
early 2008 had more than 450,000 NRI customers.
Sangli on board
The latest component of ICICI’s expansion was added in April 2007, when
ICICI merged with Sangli Bank. The all-stock deal handed Sangli’s 190
branches and 1,850 employees over to ICICI; approximately half of
Sangli’s locations can be found in rural India, which strengthens ICICI’s
rural banking business. The other half is located in urban centers across the
country. At the time of the deal, Sangli held deposits of over INR 20 billion.
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ICICI Bank
focused solely on corporate assets, and is testing the waters of home and
personal loan reconstruction with its purchase from ICICI.
As for the bank, retail assets head Rajiv Sabharwal said ICICI would
continue its aggressive securitization of loans. “We do play in this
segment,” he said. “We have been securitizing both good and bad assets.”
According to Sabharwal and Arcil CEO S. Khasnobis, ICICI will manage
the securities, collect the interest and transfer it to Arcil for a fee. “At a
future date, when Arcil is ready, we will hand over the management of the
bad home loans to it,” Sabharwal told DNA Money.
Step up
ICICI has taken unusual steps to prepare its next generation of executives,
according to a February 2008 report in India’s Economic Times. Studies
show that the average age of Indians will drop to 28 by the year 2018, and
ICICI is making sure its leadership adjusts to the youth boom. “We have to
ask ourselves: who should lead a group whose average age is 28?”
remarked the 59-year-old ICICI CEO Kandapur V. Kamath. “Will it be a
58-year-old, a 48-year-old or a 38-year-old? I believe it should definitely
be towards 28. Whether it is 38 or 48 is debatable, but it cannot definitely
be 58.”
Kamath, who took the top spot at ICICI in 1996, has long been known for
his ability to cultivate leadership talent informally among his colleagues.
But after ICICI Ltd. and ICICI Bank combined, two of his advisors
encouraged him to put a formal leadership program in place: after all, the
bank was growing, and Kamath could hardly take the time to provide
hands-on supervision for every executive. Nowadays, while ICICI
continues to recruit at top business schools, it has systems in place to help
make sure its executives come from within. Each year, at least 12 executive
spots open at ICICI and its subsidiaries. But the formal systems aren’t just
based on standardized performance reports. Kamath has put a “star system”
in place for the bank’s top performers, who forfeit bonuses for faster
advancement. A group of 2,000 managers across the group are organized
into a special leadership pool, receiving 360-degree reviews and analyses
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ICICI Bank
GETTING HIRED
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The firm also has a campus recruitment section on its site, which mostly
targets business school graduates for its management programs. The bank
details the selection process, which involves several ability and personality
tests in addition to the standard application.
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Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China
No. 55 Fuxingmennei Street
THE STATS
Xicheng District
Beijing, 100032 Employer Type: Public Company
China Ticker Symbol: 601398 (SSE),
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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
THE SCOOP
Record-breaking debut
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was founded in 1984
as a limited company owned by the Chinese government. On October 27,
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2006, ICBC set two records with its initial public offering: it became the
first company to list simultaneously on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock
exchanges, and its IPO ranked as the world’s largest public offering,
breaking the previous record of USD$18.4 billion held by Japanese mobile
phone company NTT DoCoMo in 1998. Several international institutions
made investments in ICBC in 2006. American investment bank Goldman
Sachs bought a 5.75 percent stake for USD$2.6 billion, and Germany’s
Dresdner Bank purchased a smaller share for USD$1 billion. The
American Express credit card company also invested USD$200 million.
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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
At the end of August 2007, ICBC broke the RMB 1 trillion barrier,
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becoming the first commercial bank in mainland China with over RMB 1
trillion in custodian assets.
According to the bank, its newest company will focus on leasing shipping,
airplanes and large-scale equipment to domestic and international
customers. Besides basic leasing, ICBC Financial Leasing will offer rent
transfer and securitization, capital management, property investment
consulting and other enterprise financing services. ICBC had already
earned the title of China’s biggest airplane financing bank, and is among the
country’s top banks for shipping financing.
Investing in themselves
ICBC Asia, headquartered in Hong Kong, is ICBC’s largest subsidiary
outside mainland China. It offers retail banking and personal finance
services, as well as corporate and commercial banking. With a strong
branch network throughout Hong Kong, ICBC Asia has become a leader in
Hong Kong lending.
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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Venturing abroad
ICBC made a significant purchase in December 2007, nabbing a 20 percent
stake in South Africa’s Standard Bank, the largest bank in Africa by assets.
ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing described the move as part of an effort to
make strategic moves beyond China’s borders. The deal, which was
announced in October 2007, also opens the door for a proposed USD$1
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billion fund for joint investments in global mining, oil and gas projects.
ICBC paid USD$5.6 billion for the Standard Bank shares.
Another deal closed in January 2008 when ICBC completed the acquisition
of 80 percent of Macau’s Seng Heng Bank. This was ICBC’s first venture
into Macau, which is known for its rapidly growing gaming sector. ICBC
had announced the USD$583 million purchase in August 2007.
Less than one month later, in February 2008, ICBC announced that it had
been approved by Qatar finance authorities to establish a branch in Doha.
When the office opens, it will be the first Chinese banking presence in the
Persian Gulf. According to ICBC, its Doha office will primarily offer
wholesale banking services, with additional services in trust, asset
management and financial consulting. As for ICBC’s next overseas moves,
the bank has stated plans to establish branches in Sydney, Moscow and
Dubai in the near future.
Numbers picking up
Early in 2008, the bank announced that its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio
had also improved as a result of better risk controls. At the end of 2006,
ICBC’s NPL ratio stood at 3.79 percent, and in 2007, that figure dropped to
3 percent. The bank’s ultimate goal is to limit its NPL ratio to 2 percent or
below.
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Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
For ICBC (Asia), based in Hong Kong, there are numerous job positions
listed at www.icbcasia.com/eng/about/career/career.shtml. Applicants can
send a resume including “present and expected salary” to Human Resources
Manager, GPO Box 872, Hong Kong—or e-mail hrd@icbcasia.com.
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ING
KEY COMPETITORS
BUSINESSES IN ASIA
PACIFIC Citigroup
Fortis
Wholesale Banking
Société Générale
Retail & Private Banking
UBS
ING Direct
Investment Management
Real Estate Investment EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Management
www.ing.jobs
Platform Services
Life Insurance
Retirement Services
LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC
Australia • China • Hong Kong •
India • Japan • Korea • Malaysia •
New Zealand • Philippines •
Singapore • Taiwan • Thailand
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ING
THE SCOOP
the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Asia and Australia. Through ING Direct,
the firm offers savings accounts, mortgages, mutual funds and payment
accounts, to customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Austria,
Italy, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. In May 2007, ING Direct announced
that it would launch in the Japanese market as well. The firm also provides
life insurance in Central Europe, Asia and South America. In an attempt to
simplify its many services offered throughout the world, ING reorganized
its business structure in 2004 into six lines: Insurance Americas, Insurance
Europe, Insurance Asia Pacific, Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking; and
ING Direct. In 2008, the company ranked No. 9 on the Forbes Global 2000
list.
For Asia Pacific, ING’s insurance and asset management operations are
headquartered in Hong Kong. Its investment banking operations (operating
as ING Wholesale Banking) are headquartered in Singapore, where the firm
has had operations since 1987 and currently maintains about 300
employees. Throughout the region, ING Wholesale Banking has about 800
employees, with offices in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
In India, ING runs both its retail banking and corporate banking businesses
under the ING Vysya Bank brand name. Vysya Bank was one of the top
private sector banks in India, having been established in 1930 in Bangalore.
ING made a major investment in the bank and took over management of the
combined entity in 2002.
Overall, about 15,000 employees work for ING in the Asia Pacific region.
The company's Asia Pacific insurance group runs life insurance operations
as well as asset and wealth management activities in Australia, New
Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. In
addition to being well established in these locations, ING is eyeing growth
in India, China and Thailand. In 2007, ING’s insurance business in Asia
Pacific accounted for 6 percent of ING’s total profit for the year. ING holds
a 16 percent stake in Bank of Beijing in China and a 44 percent stake in
ING Vysya Bank in India.
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ING
Primary color
ING Group will have you seeing orange. The Amsterdam-based financial
institution has orange splashed all over its marketing campaign, possibly in
recognition of the company's Dutch roots—the Dutch royal family is called
the House of Orange after the official color of King William III, who
defended the Netherlands in the late 1600s. The firm traces its roots back
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Teaming up in Malaysia
In November 2007, ING formed a 10-year alliance with Public Bank
Berhad, Malaysia’s second-largest banking group. This alliance will see the
Public Bank exclusively distributing ING’s insurance products via the
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ING
ING Asia Pacific may also attract some tech-savvy staffers with its blog,
My Cup of Cha, at www.ingblogs.com/mycupofcha. The blog, to which
Asia Pacific Insurance CEO Jacques Kemp frequently contributes, talks
about the company's activities in the region. Topics include branding, e-
business, marketing, strategy and more. My Cup of Cha was modeled after
ING’s Our Virtual Holland blog, which beat out Microsoft and
PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2007 to win the European Excellence Award for
blogs in the Corporate Media category. Another interesting initiative that
the firm has undertaken is through the virtual world of Second Life, in
which ING maintains a strong presence on its own island. On the ING
island, residents of the virtual world can visit the firm's "Cha Lounge,"
which is a place to "listen to our lounge music, read, talk and learn about
tea, virtually taste it or buy it for real world consumption."
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ING
Ethical standards
ING has identified three areas to work on in order to control the
environmental effects of its operations: energy consumption, business
travel and paper consumption. The company is also a signatory to the
Equator Principles, which apply certain policies and standards set by the
World Bank and the International Finance Corporation to project finance
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transactions, thus making sure environmental and social risks are properly
assessed and managed. ING also refuses to finance controversial weapons
or companies directly involved with their manufacture or trading, and in
asset management, the bank will not invest in companies involved in the
manufacturing of such weapons.
To give a bit back in the regions where it does business, including Asia, the
company entered into a partnership with UNICEF in 2005. The
partnership, called Chances for Children, provided 50,000 children in
Brazil, Ethiopia and India with access to primary education. In 2007, ING
and UNICEF committed to providing 115,000 children with education.
GETTING HIRED
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ING Asia/Pacific
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J.P. Morgan Investment Bank
LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC
Australia • China • Hong Kong •
India • Indonesia • Japan • South
Korea • Malaysia • Pakistan •
Philippines • Singapore • Sri Lanka
• Taiwan • Thailand • Vietnam
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J.P. Morgan Investment Bank
Goldman Sachs
“professional,” “approachable” and
Morgan Stanley
“fair”
UBS
• “Not as political as other houses on
the street”
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
MINUSES www.jpmorgan.com/careers
• “Relatively long hours”
• “Systems and processes need
updating”
• Formal training at senior levels
not as intense as at junior levels
THE SCOOP
A world player
J.P. Morgan is the investment bank division of JPMorgan Chase & Co., a
leading global financial services firm with more than USD$1.6 trillion in
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assets and over 180,000 employees in 60 countries around the world. The
firm’s investment banking division, J.P. Morgan Investment Bank, one of
the top “bulge bracket” global I-banks, has offices throughout the Asia
Pacific region. The firm consistently ranks at the top of the investment
banking league tables and wins industry awards from major financial
publications.
In the Asia Pacific region, J.P. Morgan Investment Bank provides a wide
range of investment banking products and services across Asia and an
industry coverage team that focuses on key sectors including: consumer,
healthcare and retail; financial institutions; financial sponsors; natural
resources; general industries; real estate; and technology, media and
telecommunications. The firm works with a broad range of issuer clients,
including corporations, institutions and governments, and provides
comprehensive strategic advice, capital raising and risk management
expertise.
Historic names
One of the legendary names of American banking, J.P. Morgan’s roots
stretch back to 1799, when JPMorgan Chase’s earliest predecessor, The
Manhattan Company, was chartered to supply “pure and wholesome” water
to the occupants of New York City. J.P. Morgan & Co. was itself
established by J. Pierpont Morgan in 1861 as a sales and distribution office
for the European securities firm, J.S. Morgan & Co., run by J. Pierpont’s
father. Teaming up with Anthony Drexel in 1871 to form private merchant
banking partnership Drexel Morgan & Co., by 1882 J. Pierpont Morgan was
making considerable investments in United States infrastructure, in
particular Mexico’s railways. In 1940 the company went public, becoming
J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated.
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J.P. Morgan Investment Bank
Sixty years later, JPMorgan merged with Chase Manhattan in a deal valued
at approximately USD$38.6 billion. The deal was completed on the first
day of 2001, instantly creating the third-largest financial institution in terms
of assets in the U.S., behind Citigroup and Bank of America. On July 1,
2004, JPMorgan Chase officially merged with Bank One Corporation for a
purchase price of USD$58.5 billion. Upon the merger, the combined
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In the Asia Pacific region, J.P. Morgan’s beginnings go back to 1872, when
the bank’s first office opened in Australia. The firm has been in Hong
Kong, Japan and China since the 1920s and has had a strong commitment
to the region ever since. The firm’s regional headquarters is located in
Hong Kong, where it has over 78 years of operating history. Today, J.P.
Morgan has more than 25 offices in 14 nations throughout Asia. The firm
has about 20,000 employees in the region. More than 2,900 employees are
based at the firm’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong.
Praise in Asia
J.P. Morgan’s investment banking business in Asia has been recognized by
some of the leading financial publications. FinanceAsia and The Asset have
both named J.P. Morgan Best Foreign Investment Bank in Hong Kong.
Euromoney named the firm Best Equity House in Hong Kong, Japan and
Singapore, as well as the Best M&A House for 2008 in Japan, India and
Asia Pacific. In addition, the firm’s research team was ranked No. 1 in
Institutional Investor’s latest top All-Asia (excluding Japan) Research Team
Poll, taking 26 spots in the rankings. Other recent awards include being
named 2007 Best Structured Equity House by IFR Asia magazine for the
fourth consecutive year, as well as Best High Yield House and Best Fixed
Income House by FinanceAsia.
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J.P. Morgan Investment Bank
The firm garnered particularly high praise for its derivatives business: Asia
Risk magazine named J.P. Morgan as the Equity Derivatives House of the
Year for 2007. Risk also named it the Best Derivatives House over the past
20 years as well as Best Credit Derivatives House—Pioneer and Modern
Great.
J.P. Morgan took the No. 1 spot in the all-important imputed fee category
for global equity and equity related deals, earning USD$1.67 billion in
imputed fees from its 403 deals, giving it a five-spot jump on the tables. J.P.
Morgan also took the No. 1 ranking in global loan syndications and global
high-yield bonds for the third year in a row. The firm ranked No. 2 for all
global debt, equity and equity-related deals. Its proceeds were USD$554
billion from 1,606 deals.
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J.P. Morgan Investment Bank
percent from the USD$1 billion in net income the firm booked for the 2006
fourth quarter.
However, J.P. Morgan weathered the subprime storm admirably, with its
year-end investment banking income dropping by a scant USD$400
million. In the increasingly volatile financial markets, J.P. Morgan’s results
were viewed as mainly positive and were attributed to shrewd hedges that
saved the company from further losses. As of March 2008, the firm had
announced USD$3.3 billion in total charges due to mortgage backed
securities, far less than many of its main rivals.
Rescuing Bear
In March 2008, after news surfaced that New York-based Bear Stearns was
facing a cash shortage in the midst of the industry-wide credit crisis, the
firm’s clients withdrew approximately USD$17 billion in two days, sending
what was already a financial institution on very shaky ground into
proverbial earthquake mode. As a result, JPMorgan stepped in on March
16, announcing that it would be purchasing Bear for USD$236 million in
stock—or just USD$2 a share, 97 percent less than Bear’s market value just
one week earlier. (The backlash from Bear shareholders at such a measly
per share offer resulted in JPMorgan raising its bid one week later to
USD$10 per share.) To help finance the deal, the Federal Reserve agreed
to provide JPMorgan with a USD$30 billion credit line, which, according
to The Wall Street Journal, was “believed to be the largest Fed advance on
record to a single company.”
The news of Bear’s end meant ominous things for financial markets (and
beyond), and the U.S. Federal Reserve immediately cut lending rates for
banks in an effort to try to stabilize the wildly fluctuating markets.
Meanwhile, in a statement, JPMorgan Chase & Co Chairman & CEO Jamie
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J.P. Morgan Investment Bank
Dimon assured Bear Stearns’ clients and counterparties that they “should
feel secure that JPMorgan is guaranteeing Bear Stearns’ counterparty risk.”
In April 2008, JPMorgan also added some security to more than 100
undergraduate and grad-school students. After it was announced that about
half of the recent job offers made by Bear Stearns would be rescinded,
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GETTING HIRED
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J.P. Morgan Investment Bank
a step closer to a full-time position. The internship program “will get your
foot in the door and provide us the opportunity to work with you and see
how you fit in the environment.” Internships also let you “understand the
firm, people and job.”
Regardless, even if you don’t intern at J.P. Morgan, “to have some type of
internship experience at a top investment bank is a very big boost.” One
insider admits the firm uses the internship program “as a weeding-out
program for the first years.” For their part, J.P. Morgan provides “on-the-
job training.” Still, for “fresh MBA students, a summer internship is very
critical.” Just don’t assume you’ll automatically receive a full-time job
offer at the conclusion of your internship. “Summer hires may or may not
be given offers to join full time,” confesses one insider. The firm notes that
getting hired depends on individual performance during the internship.
In terms of time you’ll spend at the office, it’s a “24-7 culture” with
“relatively long hours” that can range up to “70 to 80” per week, depending
on deal flows. And “as an analyst, you are expected to be available anytime
and all the time.” But then again, “most analysts know what they are
getting into when they join the firm, so this is not really an issue.” Hours
can also be “flexible depending on who and which team you work for.”
Weekend work, too, is hardly an anomaly. “Some months you come in on
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J.P. Morgan Investment Bank
more than one weekend, and other weekends you don’t,” says one insider.
However, “some people come in every weekend.” One source adds, “As
long as the work gets done, our managers don’t really care when you are or
are not in the office.”
Compensation and perks receive high marks from employees, who report
that they “are well taken care of.” Depending on individuals and locations,
the firm also provides a “commuting allowance,” “housing allowance,”
“after-hours meals and transportation,” “corporate discounts,” “a stock
awards program” and “membership at a dining club.”
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Another worker affirms the positive sentiments, adding, “I feel the firm has
given me a perfect structure and flexibility for me to grow my career.” The
firm notes that, upon joining, new J.P. Morgan Investment Bank analysts
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and associates are admitted to the Global Training Program, which typically
lasts for eight to 10 weeks in New York. During this program, new
employees are trained alongside other first-year analysts and associates
from J.P. Morgan’s global offices. Training programs could use a little
work at higher levels, however. One contact notes that “training at the
junior level is very well organized” but “training at the senior level is less
so.” Typically, “you learn here mostly by observation than formal
approach.” As far as advancement within the firm goes, “the firm promotes
younger members of the team to work to their potential and will give an
analyst or associate as much responsibility as they want to take.”
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Kookmin Bank
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Kookmin Bank
THE SCOOP
banking scene since its 2001 merger with the Housing & Commercial Bank
of Korea. The deal, which was encouraged by the South Korean
government to boost the local banking industry, formed a powerhouse with
over KRW 162 trillion in assets. In 2006, Kookmin planned a second major
merger, setting its sights on the state-owned Korea Exchange Bank (KEB).
That acquisition would have given Kookmin a much-needed entry into
foreign markets—KEB has several international offices and robust foreign
exchange and corporate banking business lines. However, the deal was
called off after KEB’s owner, American equity fund Lone Star, pulled the
plug amidst a massive government investigation.
Before taking the top spot at Kookmin, CEO Kang Chung Won made his
name as the head of SeoulBank, where he oversaw its sale to another South
Korean-based bank, Hana Bank. Kookmin ranked No. 461 in the 2008
Fortune Global 500, down from its 2007 ranking at No. 349.
Hi, Hannuri
In late 2007, Kookmin made a big buy, offering KRW 266 billion for a 95.8
percent stake in Hannuri Investment and Securities Company, which had
been owned by a group of American investors. Hannuri, which was
established in 1995, offers institutional equity and fixed income sales,
research, domestic and cross-border corporate finance and mergers and
acquisitions (M&A), structured finance, financial engineering and
derivatives trading. The acquisition was part of Kookmin’s preparation for
South Korean regulatory changes that will allow the nation’s financial
institutions to offer a wider range of services. The law, known as the
Capital Market Consolidation Act, becomes effective in 2009. Meanwhile,
Kookmin’s purchase of Hannuri was approved by financial regulators in
February 2008.
Cleaning house
Kookmin did some internal reorganizing in November 2007, again in
anticipation of the Capital Market Consolidation Act. The bank’s board of
directors approved a plan to establish a financial holding group, a move
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Kookmin Bank
bank officials, the move helped reduce overlap between departments that
performed similar internal functions. It also set up a group charged with
leading overseas expansion and investment banking efforts. At the same
time, Kookmin named new deputy presidents to oversee strategy,
marketing, lending, business support, computer systems and human
resources. A spokesman told The Korea Herald that the increased
efficiency would help the bank expand its sales capacity—and prepare for
growth stemming from the Capital Market Consolidation Act.
Who’s on first?
In February 2008, for the first time, Kookmin rival Shinhan Financial
Group took the title of South Korea’s No. 1 financial services firm by
market capitalization. The numbers were close, however: Shinhan’s
winning market cap was KRW 19.57 trillion, while Kookmin dropped to
KRW 19.51 trillion. The very next day Kookmin recovered, closing with a
market cap of KRW 19.41 trillion—while Shinhan fell back to KRW 19.35
trillion.
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Kookmin Bank
Still, the back-and-forth was cause for debate about the future of South
Korea’s two biggest banks. Analysts noted that Shinhan has the edge in
business platforms and assets—in recent years, it has made three major
acquisitions: Goodmorning Shinhan Securities, Chohung Bank (CHB) and
LG Card. Shinhan is also strong in areas such as brokerage, credit cards
and investment banking. Meanwhile, Kookmin is considered to have a
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superior retail banking platform, thanks in large part to its 2001 merger with
Housing & Commercial Bank of Korea. South Korea’s financial
community also remains aware of the fact that foreign investors hold a
combined 79.1 percent stake in Kookmin, whereas non-Korean investors
hold just 56.6 percent of Shinhan. But Kookmin’s reorganization efforts
and plans to expand after the enactment of the Capital Markets
Consolidation Act have won it praise. The bank has also said it will acquire
non-banking financial services firms as it moves toward establishing its
group holding company.
Cross-border problems
In mid-February 2008, as markets reopened from the Lunar New Year
holiday, Kookmin’s stock hit its lowest point in three years—a ripple effect
from the United States’ depressed housing market. Other Asian stocks fell
amidst speculations about an American recession that could drag down
economic growth worldwide. Concerns about U.S. subprime-backed
securities persisted, too, as many major banks continued to report losses.
South Korea’s Kospi index fell 3.3 percent. Kookmin’s shares went down
6.5 percent to KRW 58,000, its worst performance since June 2004.
GETTING HIRED
Beware of blocks
After installing a number of proprietary Kookmin applications on your
computer to simply access the company’s web site, the “Career
opportunitis” [sic] link on Kookmin’s English page yields little. There are
no job postings or even the most basic of information. If you are interested
in working for Kookmin, you can e-mail your resume to
mailus@kbstar.com. This address can also be used for general hiring
questions.
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Asia Pacific region.
Korea Development Bank
16-3 Yeouido-dong
THE STATS
Yeongdeungpo-gu
Seoul, 150-973 Employer Type: Government-owned
South Korea Company
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LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC
China
Hong Kong (through subsidiary)
Japan
Kazakhstan (through subsidiary)
Singapore
South Korea
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Korea Development Bank
THE SCOOP
Beyond reconstruction
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) was founded in 1954 as the Korea
Reconstruction Bank, part of a government effort to provide financing for
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the restoration of infrastructure destroyed in the Korean War. The bank also
provided support for some of the country’s core industries, particularly in
the energy sector.
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Korea Development Bank
Private time
Investment banking makes up about 80 percent of KDB’s business. In
January 2008, reports surfaced that South Korea’s new government planned
to combine KDB’s investment banking division with subsidiary Daewoo
Securities and then sell off the consolidated company. If the deal happens,
it will be South Korea’s biggest M&A transaction to date. Reuters quoted
South Korea’s senior secretary for national policy planning, Kwak Seung-
jun, as saying that the combined KDB-Daewoo sale could raise more than
KRW 20 trillion.
For its part, in February 2008 KDB set up a task force to study the changes
it would need to make for its investment banking business to become
privatized. At the same time, KDB began considering the possibility of
selling off its shares of Korean industrial companies—possibly to other
banks—as a way of streamlining and raising capital. Still, even if the
government goes through with the sale, KDB’s international banking,
corporate restructuring and funding businesses would remain under state
control.
Not so fast
Addressing plans to privatize KDB, the bank’s governor and chairman, Kim
Chang-Lok, told The Korea Herald that he would not fully support the plan
until the Korean investment banking industry—and KDB’s own investment
banking business—had more time to grow. “Korea’s investment banking is
at an infant stage, and not even a toddler stage yet, compared with global
ones,” he said. “However, I’m confident that KDB’s investment banking
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Korea Development Bank
will build its position, at least in Asia, in five years.” Kim also noted that
as a state-owned entity, KDB had still managed to pay billion-won
dividends for three consecutive years and maintained an excellent capital
ratio. “Compared to other public corporations, the bank’s macro indexes
have greatly improved.” He added that spinning off KDB’s investment
banking unit while keeping other business under government control would
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As of the conclusion of 2007, KDB held assets of KRW 122.6 trillion and
its net income for 2007 totaled KRW 2.05 trillion. The bank was also listed
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Korea Development Bank
in Asia Risk’s 2007 Top 10 Asian Banks and won Dealogic’s award for 2007
Best Mandated Deal Arranger for Public-Private Partnership.
Onward to ‘11
For several years, KDB has been working toward a set of goals it calls
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“Vision 2011.” According to the bank, Vision 2011 is designed “to help
KDB effectively carry out its role as a public policy institution and also
heighten its competitiveness to cope with the increasing globalization of
finance.”
The first stage of Vision 2011 took place from 2003 to 2006 and involved
ramping up core businesses of investment banking, corporate banking,
international banking, corporate restructuring and consulting services in
order to become a corporate finance leader in South Korea. Stage two,
which runs from 2007 to 2011, aims to make KDB a top player across Asia
by increasing its competitiveness, improving asset quality and bringing
profitability in line with its global competitors.
GETTING HIRED
Not much to go on
There is no specific hiring information on KDB’s English site at
www.kdb.co.kr. Under “Networks and Subsidiaries,” you can find an
extensive list of offices in the Asia Pacific region, with direct contact
information for each. Branches include Guangzhou, China; Shanghai;
Singapore; and Tokyo, with a subsidiary in Hong Kong. Representative
offices are also present in Beijing and Shenyang, China.
The “Contact Us” link from KDB’s site gives you a chance to send your
questions about careers and other unavailable information. Alternately, you
could send a resume directly to the company’s headquarters at Korea
Development Bank, 16-3 Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-
973, South Korea—or call 82-2-787-5821.
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Kotak Mahindra Capital
Company
3rd Floor, Bakhtawar
THE STATS
229 Nariman Point
Mumbai, 400 021 Employer Type: Subsidiary of
India Kotak Mahindra Group
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LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC
Chennai, India
Mumbai, India
Mauritius
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Kotak Mahindra Capital Company
THE SCOOP
with over 20,000 employees. KMCC was originally founded in 1995 as a joint
venture between Kotak Mahindra and U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Like its parent, KMCC is headquartered in Mumbai, but has its own office.
The firm offers equity issuances, M&A advisory, structured finance services,
financial sponsorship and infrastructure services. KMCC has experience
across all major industry sectors—banking and financial services, fast-moving
consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, energy and infrastructure,
automobiles, aviation and transportation, telecom, technology, retailing, and
media and entertainment. The company has played a key role in several
industry-defining deals, such as the IPOs for Tech Mahindra, Hughes Software
and Maruti Udyog. According to the Prime league tables, KMCC has
managed an unmatched 66 percent of all domestic equity offerings above INR
3 billion from April 2003 to June 2008. KMCC has also made a name for itself
by being the first Indian investment bank to register with the Securities &
Exchange Commission in the U.S. and the Securities & Authority in the U.K.
Through its association with Kotak Mahindra Bank and its subsidiaries in
New York, London, Mauritius and Dubai, KMCC enables Indian
corporations to access international capital markets. In addition to working
for top technology companies, including British Telecom and Sony, KMCC
has also worked its magic for leading financial institutions like Citigroup
and Warburg Pincus.
Elite seven
In addition to its M&A and equity capital markets groups, KMCC has what it
calls its Financial Sponsors Group (FSG). Set up in 2005, FSG is an initiative
to provide the full suite of investment banking services for leading global and
domestic private equity and hedge funds. The firm’s FSG desk has seven
experts who work closely with companies, acting as buy- and sell-side
advisors for deals in a wide variety of industries. FSG’s advisory and
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Kotak Mahindra Capital Company
KMCC has also recently set up an Infrastructure Group to provide the entire
gamut of investment banking solutions to public and private sector
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Good advice
KMCC lent its merchant banking and advisory services to several big deals in
2007 and 2008. The firm was the book running lead manager (BRLM) on
Reliance Power’s INR 115.6 billion IPO in January 2008, the global
coordinator and BRLM on DLF’s INR 91.9 billion IPO in June 2007 and the
BRLM for Power Grid Corp. of India’s INR 29.8 billion IPO. KMCC also
successfully completed some marquee qualified institutional placements (QIP)
for GMR Infrastructure (INR 39.7 billion), Infrastructure Development Finance
Co. (INR 21 billion) and Bank of India (INR 13.6 billion), among others.
KMCC showcased its leadership in the M&A space by advising on some of the
largest and most complex M&A transactions, including managing the entry of
Irish buildings materials major Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH) into India
when it acquired a 50 percent stake in My Home Industries. KMCC acted as
exclusive advisor to Gokaldas Exports for sale of its controlling stake to The
Blackstone Group, the largest buyout by a private equity fund in garments.
KMCC also was exclusive advisor to the Bombay Stock Exchange and
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Kotak Mahindra Capital Company
According to the 2008 Prime league tables, Kotak was ranked No. 1 for
Customized for: Muhammed Carim (mc650@cam.ac.uk) University of University of Cambridge, Judge Business School Online Career Library
fund raising through IPOs and QIPs. Indata ranked KMCC No. 1 in value
of announced M&A transactions in India in 2007, while Bloomberg placed
KMCC at No. 3 in value of announced M&A transactions in India in 2007.
One theory on why KMCC and other local shops still have a leg up on the
big-name players is that Indian customers like doing business with Indian
banks. “Every transaction in our business has three aspects—functionality,
trust and brand. People tend to overemphasize on the brand aspect,” Vallabh
Bhansali, chairman of Indian firm Enam Securities, told the The Wall Street
Journal. “But we have seen that even if you keep a low profile, people
would still like to work with you.
GETTING HIRED
For KMCC, you can submit your resume for the investment banking division at
www.kmcc.co.in/join_us.html. You can also send in your resume with a cover
letter to KMCC’s mailing address given above and address it to the HR
department.
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Lehman Brothers
Regional Headquarters
THE STATS
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower
31st Floor Employer Type: Public Company
6-10-1 Roppongi Ticker Symbol: LEH (NYSE)
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MINUSES
• “Few perks”
• “The hours”
• ”It takes a long time to receive
expense reimbursements”
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
See “Careers” at www.lehman.com
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Lehman Brothers
THE SCOOP
to sell the firm, but ultimately failed to find a buyer which was willing to
acquire it without receiving emergency funding from U.S. federal officials.
On September 15, the firm's holding company, Lehman Brothers Holding
Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S., marking the
largest bankruptcy in U.S. history in terms of assets held. However, its
subsidiaries, including its broker-dealers, were not included in the
bankruptcy filing as of the time of this writing.
The investment bank has operated in Asia for more than a century. In the
1880s, Jacob Schiff—a partner with Kuhn, Loeb—established investment
banking relationships in Japan and Europe. Lehman Brothers opened a
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Lehman Brothers
Tokyo office in 1973, and a 1977 merger with Kuhn, Loeb enhanced the
company’s global presence.
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Lehman Brothers
Deluxe deals
Globally, Lehman Brothers advised on many of the world’s biggest M&A
deals throughout 2007 and into the first half of 2008. Lehman advised
Altria Group on its USD$113 billion spin-off of Philip Morris International
in 2008, the largest global spin-off in history, as well as Altria’s USD$62
billion spin-off of Kraft in 2007. Additionally, in the first half of 2008,
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Lehman was also a major force in debt and equity capital raises for leading
financial institutions in 2007 and the first half of 2008, advising Fannie
Mae, Freddie Mac, WaMu, AIG, CIT Group and MBIA among others. The
firm completed GlaxoSmithKline’s USD$9 billion bond offering in 2008,
the largest corporate issuance since 2002. In 2007, Lehman served as sole
active bookrunner for CVS Caremark’s USD$5.5 billion high-grade bond
deal, the largest such transaction in the U.S. for the year. As of mid-2008,
Lehman is currently advising Yahoo! on its review of strategic alternatives
including Microsoft’s USD$44 billion unsolicited acquisition proposal.
In Asia, the firm has been involved in several recent groundbreaking deals.
In 2007, Lehman Brothers acted as senior bookrunning lead manager for
DLF Ltd’s USD$2.25 billion IPO, India’s largest IPO at that time. Lehman
was also joint global coordinator on China CITIC Bank’s USD$5.9 billion
concurrent Hong Kong and Shanghai IPOs, the largest IPO on the Hong
Kong Stock Exchange and the second-largest IPO globally in 2007. In
2008, Lehman was a joint book runner for the Republic of Indonesia’s
USD$2 billion fixed rate senior notes and its USD$2.2 billion re-opening of
three existing tranches of the bonds, which marked Indonesia’s biggest-ever
dollar bond.
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Lehman Brothers
company) and to China Unicom in its RMB 110 billion sale of its CDMA
business and network to China Telecom at the center of a major
restructuring of China’s telecommunications industry.
On the tables
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For the first half of 2008, Lehman moved up to No. 7, from No. 9 in
worldwide announced M&A and to No. 5 from No. 7 in worldwide
completed M&A. Lehman also advised on three top 10 M&A announced
deals in this period and four top 10 M&A completed deals. Lehman also
moved up significantly in worldwide equity and equity-related
underwriting from No. 9 at the end of 2007 to No. 5 for the first half of
2008. On the U.S. league table, Lehman finished the first half of 2008 at
No. 2, up from No. 6 in 2007.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Lehman Brothers
In January 2007, the firm continued to expand its franchise in the emerging
Indian market. Within a span of just over a year, Lehman Brothers India
has established a presence in equities, fixed income, investment banking,
investment management and proprietary investments and now boasts a
team of over 150 employees. In addition to aggressive internal growth, the
firm also acquired the Institutional Equity Group of Brics Securities, one of
the leading brokerage firms in India, in August 2007 to bolster its platform
for equity brokerage and equity research businesses.
In Asia, Lehman continues to be led by Jasjit S. Bhattal, who has been the
chief executive officer for the Asia Pacific region since July 2000. Helping
Jasjit in Asia are Hyung Lee, Christopher Manning and Glen Schiffman,
who lead the capital markets, investment management and investment
banking businesses in the region, respectively.
Mortgage hurts
As was the case with most big Wall Street firms, Lehman Brothers recently
experienced job reductions. In February 2008, it was reported that Lehman
Brothers would be further reducing its workforce by 200 jobs in its
mortgage capital business in the U.K., which were in addition to the
approximately 3,000 cuts that were announced in late 2007 and early 2008.
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Lehman Brothers
scaling down its operations in the U.K. and U.S., and closing down its
South Korean mortgage unit completely. This restructuring meant the loss
of approximately 850 jobs worldwide.
GETTING HIRED
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Fit first
“Lehman is very selective in the hiring process,” sources say, and its goal
is “to find the perfect fit for its culture.” “Though it seems like the trend is
that more and more analysts are being hired each year, the standard for
hiring has not decreased at all,” a source says. “It is still an extremely
competitive and highly selective process at Lehman.” An insider in Asia
notes, “Be prepared for interviews with the whole team.”
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Lehman Brothers
Working at the firm during the summer can also open the door to a full-time
job. “The firm certainly keeps track of which interns stand out from the
pack,” an insider says, “particularly their attitude toward work and their
ability to work in the larger team.” “Participation in summer internships is
vital in seeking employment at Lehman,” says another. “A significant
portion of our hires come from the internship class. Unlike other firms that
may put a cap on the total amount of full-time hires they may hire from the
internship class, for Lehman, as long as you are capable and are a good fit
to our culture, you can secure a full-time position.” A first-year analyst tips,
“I was told during the time of my application for a summer internship that
the firm would ideally like to migrate to a recruiting model where all new
full-time hires were drawn from the internship class.”
In it together
Lehman’s offices are full of “team players,” insiders say, and “people of all
levels are approachable and patient to transfer their knowledge to you.”
Sources praise the “great culture” and “lots of opportunities to show your
abilities.” Says a source, “I am very happy working at the firm—not just
because of the work that I do, but also because of the people I am fortunate
enough to work with.”
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Lehman Brothers
“Just come visit our offices and take a look at the number of women and
ethnic minorities on the floors,” a senior analyst notes. “That says it all.”
For all the hard work they do, Lehman employees give the firm above-
average marks on pay. Their one complaint: bare-bones perks. “No gym
memberships,” sighs a source. They do get “individual investment
opportunities and health care coverage,” plus a “meal allowance if you
work past 8 p.m. Transportation reimbursement works the same way.”
As for dress, “our firm is one of the most conservative” out there. “We
usually have to wear ties, even if there is no client contact during working
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Lehman Brothers
hours,” an insider explains. Says another, “A suit and tie is required for
men, while women generally wear suits or a skirt and blouse. During the
summer, we have business casual Fridays, but even our casual days are
conservative.”
Go team
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While “everyone is serious about their work,” insiders say their bosses try
to keep the mood light when there’s time for it. “When there are down
times, everyone takes a break with jokes and fun.”
A variety of training
Sometimes the pressures of the business keep superiors from doing a lot of
training on the job. As one insider says, “My boss is very nice. She gives
a lot of independence but sometimes doesn’t have time to teach her
analysts. You have to be proactive to get questions answered.”
As for structured programs, new hires kick off with “a few weeks training
in New York,” and one analyst calls this “one of the best training programs
on the Street.” Analysts hired for Asia offices may have additional “special
training,” and there’s firmwide, “ongoing training focusing on different
areas—some are techniques such as credit training and others are
qualitative, like public speaking.”
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Macquarie Group
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Macquarie Group
THE SCOOP
In Australia and New Zealand, as well as around the world, Macquarie acts
for a wide range of institutional, corporate, government and retail clients.
In the Asia Pacific region, Macquarie offers a full range of investment,
financial market and advisory products and services. In Asia, Macquarie
has offices in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. In Europe, the
Middle East, Africa and the Americas, Macquarie focuses on particular
business areas.
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Macquarie Group
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Macquarie Group
New structure
In November 2007, Macquarie Bank Limited restructured and Macquarie
Group Limited was established as the parent of the Macquarie Group. The
Macquarie Group, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, is now
made up of a banking group and a non-banking group.
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the market that in full year 2007, the retail and wholesale residential
mortgage businesses represented less than one percent of Macquarie Group
profits. The impact of the decision to wind-back the business is not
financially material.”
GETTING HIRED
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Merrill Lynch
Regional Headquarters
THE STATS
(non-Japan Asia)
Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited Employer Type: Public Company
15th Floor Citibank Tower Ticker Symbol: MER (NYSE)
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Merrill Lynch
THE SCOOP
firm to Bank of America at USD$29 per share, bringing the sale to a total
of approximately USD$50 billion. The sale is still pending approval by
U.S. federal regulators and the shareholders of both companies.
Merrill Lynch has a major presence in the Asia Pacific region, with offices
in India, China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand,
Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. The firm’s first office in Asia opened
in 1960 in Hong Kong. Since then, it has expanded throughout Asia
through joint ventures and investments in the region.
Pan-Asian bailout
Wall Street firms may have been tripping over each other to get in on the
flourishing Asian markets in the start of 2007, but the tables quickly turned
when many American and European firms lost billons of dollars as a result
of their exposure to the subprime market. Asian entities sprang to pump
money into the same mightiest investment banks in the world as these
former giants struggled to maintain liquidity.
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Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch’s losses in 2007 were worse than most: as of June, the firm
had USD$32 billion in exposure to collateralized debt obligations. This
exposure led to write-downs of nearly USD$16.7 billion in just one year
and an annual net loss of USD$7.8 million. CEO Stan O’Neal retired in
October 2007 as a result of the credit collapse, and his replacement John
Thain worked to get the situation under control, stating that the firm’s
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But relatively good news was soon to come in the form of sovereign wealth
funds and cash-rich Asian firms, which have seen this period in banking
history as a prime investment opportunity. The first break came in
December 2007, when Singaporean government-owned investment firm
Temasek Holdings and U.S.-based firm Davis Selected Advisors pumped
USD$6.2 billion into Merrill Lynch’s coffers. In January 2008, the firm got
an additional cash injection of USD$6.6 billion from the Kuwait Investment
Authority, Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group and the Korean Investment
Corporation.
Merrill Lynch made profits on another Chinese IPO in 2006, but for an
entirely different reason. It was chosen for the coveted spot of lead
underwriter to the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China’s IPO. The buzz
around the debut was historic, as many felt that ICBC had the potential to
break the world record of USD$18.4 billion set by a Japanese mobile phone
company called NTT DoCoMo Inc. ICBC didn’t disappoint. The firm’s
dual offering on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets raised
USD$21.9 billion and was the largest initial public offering ever. Merrill
Lynch split the enormous USD$350 million in underwriting fees with
Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, who were co-underwriters on the deal.
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confidence within the NYSE board, helped the Exchange go public and led
the acquisition of Euronext, creating the world’s first trans-Atlantic stock
exchange.
Table-toppers
Merrill Lynch’s good fortune in the Asian investment banking market
remained in effect in 2007. According to Thomson Financial (now
Thomson Reuters), Merrill ranked No. 6 in all Asia (excluding Japan and
Australia) IPO volume, working on 25 deals representing 4.6 percent of the
total market share. The proceeds from the deals were USD$3.9 billion,
slightly lower than the proceeds the firm underwrote in 2006, when it
ranked No. 4 in Asian IPOs. Merrill also ranked No. 7 in Asia common
stock underwriting, and No. 8 in Asian convertible deals. Globally, Merrill
dropped one spot to No. 6 for all IPOs, with proceeds of USD$17.9 billion
on 92 deals.
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Merrill Lynch
2007. The Asset also awarded Merrill the top spot in a wide variety of
individual countries including Best Equity House in India, Best Debt House
in South Korea and Best Equity House in Pakistan. The magazine
acknowledged the firm’s difficulties in other realms during the year,
explaining that overall Merrill was the winner because of the bank’s
individual innovative strategy: “Applying a consistent and committed
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approach to this belief, this bank has stood out—and in a year like 2007,
with the difficulties in the public market, it is in the editors’ view—
redefining the borders of Asia’s capital markets.”
Eugene steps in
In February 2008, Eugene McQuade, the former president of Freddie Mac,
took over as president and vice chairman of Merrill’s banking group, which
primarily provides loans and mortgages to the firm’s clients. McQuade,
who resigned from Freddie Mac in September 2007 after turning down an
offer to become the firm’s CEO, replaced McIntyre “Mack” Gardner, who
stepped down in January 2008 shortly after Merrill’s former CEO Stan
O’Neal resigned. McQuade has also previously worked for Bank of
America and FleetBoston Financial. He’ll oversee Merrill Lynch Bank
USA and Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust Co., reporting to Robert McCann,
president of the firm’s global wealth management unit.
More recently, Tom Sanzone joined the senior management team in March
2008 as executive vice president and chief administrative officer. His
responsibilities include overseeing the firm’s technology, operations and
corporate services groups. In addition, Fares Noujaim, a former vice-
chairman at Bear Stearns, was named president of the firm’s business in the
Middle East and North Africa, a newly created senior management position.
He is also global head of sovereign wealth funds and is based in New York
and the Middle East.
The bad news unfortunately didn’t end there. Merrill also announced plans
to slash 3,000 positions by the end of 2008. The cuts were largely spurred
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May and June weren’t much better for Mother Merrill, as Wall Street
analysts predicted in late June that Merrill would post anywhere from
USD$3.5 billion to USD$5.4 billion in additional write-downs when the
firm announces its second quarter 2008 results in mid-July.
GETTING HIRED
Market variables
The selection process at Merrill Lynch’s Asia offices is said to be “very
competitive,” and the odds of getting hired are “correlated highly to market
conditions.” Another source notes that the firm has its pick of “top-tier
graduates from the leading Ivy League schools,” as well as “laterals from
across the globe.”
“Basically, the only way to get into the entry-level analyst pool is through
the summer internship program,” explains an analyst. Merrill Lynch’s
careers site all but confirms this, noting that in some Asia offices “the
majority of our full-time classes are filled through our summer programs
and, as such, we generally do not actively recruit from campus for full-time
opportunities.” However, “In instances where full-time opportunities
become available, information will be posted on the ml.com/careers site.”
Full-time analyst and associate opportunities are primarily available in
Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.
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Merrill Lynch
Because the summer program serves as a pipeline into the firm, the
internship recruitment process itself is “highly competitive, with thousands
of applicants from all the best universities in the U.S. and abroad.”
Bring it
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Potential full-time hires and potential summer hires will find a similar
recruitment process, which includes “resume screening, phone interviews,
on-site interviews” and, in some cases, an “online aptitude test.” Questions
may cover “views on the market,” “why Merrill Lynch?” and “more
importantly, what do you bring to the table?” A Hong Kong source “was
asked mainly questions to test my knowledge on the job I was interviewing
for, ideas for the future of the business and what I could add to the team.”
Candidates meet with several different interviewers—anywhere from five
to 20—and may wind up speaking with employees from all levels of the
firm, from “sales traders to team members to research analysts” to “very
senior officers.”
In-house training
Sources say they enjoy “open, constant and close dialogue” with
supervisors and managers, who “take exceptionally good care of their teams
and encourage team culture.” Of course, there “is still a reporting line,” but
“team members never get looked down upon by supervisors.”
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“Formal training is on par with the industry,” a Hong Kong insider opines,
“but that can only get you so far. You learn a lot on the job, and compared
to my counterparts at other firms, colleagues here are a lot more helpful in
informal training.”
Work weeks vary depending on the deal at hand, as well as seniority, but
insiders say 60 hours per week is average, though that figure can climb as
high as 90 hours per week for some. “All-nighters are not uncommon when
working on live deals and rush requests,” a source says. Merrill’s attitude
is “work hard on the weekdays and relax on the weekends,” says a director.
He adds, “I travel about once a week, thus the weekdays are tough—but the
tradeoff is that weekends are usually sacred.” “Long hours are expected in
this business,” shrugs another source. “Life is easier with connectivity
options, like BlackBerrys and remote access.” And while Merrill
employees sometimes “need to work until late in the evenings and on
weekends,” many find “the time is flexible and you can work from home or
wherever you are.” Plus, a recent hire notes, “I would say there’s relatively
more free time than at other firms.”
Insiders say they’re satisfied with their compensation and benefit packages,
which include base pay, bonuses and extras—like “stock option programs,”
a subsidized gym membership, “meals and taxis covered after 9 p.m.,”
“medical insurance, a housing allowance and per diems” when on the road.
Employees can also “trade through the Merrill Lynch brokerage at very low
cost.” To improve the package, one source says the firm could have more
transparency when it comes to bonuses, linking them directly “to revenue
or income contributed by each group.”
Think smart
Most of Merrill’s Asia offices receive good ratings on location and upkeep.
A Singapore source appreciates his office’s “location close to the mall, with
easy transportation access,” and others say they enjoy the “not too formal”
dress code—”no suits,” cheers a Hong Kong insider. However, some
employees choose to keep things “formal, to anticipate meetings,” and, of
course, “client contact” requires dressing up in “full formal.” But for the
most part it’s “smart casual for day-to-day, meaning shirt and slacks without
tie or jacket” for men and similar smart casual attire for women.
The firm is said to be doing well in its efforts to promote diversity, too.
“The firm takes women’s rights seriously, and has a policy of gender
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Merrill Lynch
firm also notes four active networks it maintains in the Asia Pacific region:
for professional women; for parents and care-givers; for lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgendered individuals; and for young professionals.
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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
Group
4-5 Marunouchi 1-chome
THE STATS
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, 100-8330 Employer Type: Public Company
Japan Ticker Symbol: MTU (NYSE)
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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
THE SCOOP
Global giant
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), a result of the 2005 merger
between Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group and UFJ Holdings, is the
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world’s biggest bank by assets—the firm has roughly JPY 193 trillion to
call its own. MUFG’s more than 80,000 employees provide deposit,
lending, leasing, investment advice and trust services in Japan and
internationally in more than 40 other countries. In 2008, MUFG ranked No.
118 on the Fortune Global 500.
Mega deal
The merger of Mitsubishi Tokyo and UFJ reduced Japan’s mega-banks to
three, as the combined company joined the ranks of competitors Mizuho
Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui. Mitsubishi Tokyo, a banking
powerhouse and one of the sole Japanese banks to remain healthy in the
1990s, saw a chance to secure a competitive position against the two other
mega-banks by teaming up with struggling UFJ. In the fiscal year prior to
the merger, UFJ lost USD$3.7 billion and was clearly the weakest of
Japan’s big four banking groups.
Subprime lite
Now in its third year operating as a joint company, MUFG is happy as a
clam with its position as the largest of Japan’s three mega banks and the
world’s largest financial institution by assets. But reality started hitting in
late 2007, as the firm began feeling waves—albeit relatively small ones—
from the U.S. subprime loan fiasco. For the fiscal year ended March 2008,
the firm reported net income of JPY 636.63 billion, down about 28 percent
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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
from the previous fiscal year. Despite this, full-year revenues increased
from JPY 6.22 trillion to JPY 6.5 trillion, up nearly 5 percent over the
previous fiscal year.
GETTING HIRED
Experts, unite
On MUFG’s web site at www.mufg.jp/english, the bank’s “management
philosophy” aims to provide “the opportunities and work environment
necessary for all employees to enhance their expertise and make full use of
their abilities.” If you’re a good citizen, it probably won’t hurt your
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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
But one thing the firm doesn’t have on its site is actual job listings. If
you’re interested in applying, your best bet is probably to mail your
materials to the firm’s physical address: 7-1, Marunouchi 2-chome
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Mizuho Financial Group
1-5-5 Otemachi
THE STATS
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, 100-0004 Employer Type: Public Company
Japan Ticker Symbol: 8411 (TYO),
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Mizuho Financial Group
THE SCOOP
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Mizuho Financial Group
Mizuho Securities is one of the firms that has been burned by the spread of
the U.S. mortgage crisis. The firm reported around JPY 27 billion in net
losses for the six months ended September 30, 2007, largely due to a plunge
in the prices of securities products linked to U.S. subprime mortgage loans.
The second half proved to be drastically worse, as MUFG posted a loss of
JPY 220 billion in the fourth quarter alone, bringing total losses for the year
to a whopping JPY 420 billion—primarily due to its securities arm. In a
last-ditch effort, MUFG said in December 2007 that it would inject around
JPY 150 billion into Mizuho Securities, which will in turn issue the full
amount in new shares to Mizuho’s wholesale banking division, Mizuho
Corporate Bank.
Partnering in India
Mizuho announced in February 2008 that its securities unit was forming an
alliance with an Indian firm, Tata Capital, to offer investment banking,
private equity and wealth management services. The companies did not
offer details on the size of investments they plan to make, saying only that
they had signed a preliminary agreement to cooperate on buyout
investments and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. As part of Tata
Group, Tata Capital is associated with one of the largest companies in
India—the parent company has revenue of more than USD$29 billion.
Reporting on the partnership in February 2008, Bloomberg explained,
“Japanese banks including Mizuho are seeking to expand in faster-growing
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Mizuho Financial Group
GETTING HIRED
Go Mizuho
You’d better beef up your Japanese language skills before looking for
career opportunities with Mizuho. Mizuho’s Japanese language careers
page can be found at www.mizuho-fg.co.jp/saiyou/pre_index.html.
Unfortunately, the firm doesn’t feature any careers information on its site in
English—clicking the “Careers” link in English will simply redirect you to
the firm’s Japanese page.
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Morgan Stanley
(Investment Banking)
Morgan Stanley
THE STATS
Asia Pacific Head Office
Employer Type: Public Company
(Until December 2008)
Ticker Symbol: MS (NYSE)
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30th Floor
Chairman & CEO, Morgan Stanley:
Three Exchange Square
John J. Mack
Central, Hong Kong
CEO, Morgan Stanley Asia:
(From December 2008) Owen Thomas
Level 46 Chairman, Morgan Stanley Asia:
International Commerce Centre Stephen Roach
1 Austin Road West Net Revenue: USD$5.49 billion
Kowloon, Hong Kong (FYE 11/07)
Net Income: USD$1.47 billion
(Remaining unchanged) (FYE 11/07)
Phone: +852-2848-5200 No. of Employees worldwide: 57,845
Fax: +852-2845-1012 No. of Employees in Asia: 5,122
www.morganstanley.com No. of Offices worldwide:
More than 600
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Morgan Stanley
THE SCOOP
Global powerhouse
One of the leading investment banking firms in the world, Morgan Stanley’s
business is divided into three practice areas: investment management, wealth
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Today, the New York-based bank has more than 600 offices in 33 countries
worldwide. It's had a presence in Asia Pacific for over 30 years, and
currently has more than 3,400 employees in its offices in Hong Kong,
Beijing, Shanghai, Zhuhai (China), Taipei, Seoul, Singapore, Jakarta,
Hanoi, Mumbai, Sydney and Melbourne.
Deep roots
In 1854, American Junius J. Morgan joined a London banking business. His
son, J. Pierpont Morgan, decided to follow in his father's footsteps back
home—and as one of America's most powerful financiers, Pierpont Morgan's
name became synonymous with wealth and commerce in the country's early
industrial years. Pierpont Morgan was succeeded by his son J.P. Morgan, who
formed J.P. Morgan & Co. In 1935 Henry Morgan and Harold Stanley left J.P.
Morgan & Co. to form Morgan Stanley in New York, with offices on Wall
Street. Morgan Stanley continued to grow, managing some of the biggest
IPOs and bond issues of the 1940s and 1950s.
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same year the Discover card was launched by Sears, Roebuck (the product
of a merger between Sears, Roebuck and Dean Witter Reynolds).
Dean Witter Discover separated from Sears, Roebuck in 1993 and Morgan
Stanley purchased the venerable Van Kampen mutual fund family in 1996.
The following year Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter, Discover & Co.
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Eyes on Asia
The firm's primary businesses in Asia Pacific include corporate finance,
mergers and acquisitions advisory, direct investment, equities and fixed
income research, sales and trading, foreign exchange and commodities,
private wealth management and investment management. Morgan Stanley
is also planning on launching retail fund management operations in South
Korea, China and Taiwan over the next two years—all part of an expansive
push into Asian investment management.
China connection
Morgan Stanley was one of the many unfortunate investment banks who
recorded losses in the fourth quarter of 2007, when USD$5.7 billion in write-
downs due to holdings in the subprime market caused a loss of USD$3.59
billion. The majority of the hit was reported on the books as a failure of the
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Morgan Stanley
fixed income sales and trading business. In 2006, that department had net
revenue of USD$2.3 billion. In 2007, it was recorded as having a loss of
USD$7.9 billion. CEO John Mack tried to show some personal accountability
for the firm’s disappointing quarter by refusing his yearly bonus.
In December 2007, the firm followed in the footsteps of banks such as UBS
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Executive shift
In November 2007, Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack made some major
management changes. The most notable departure was that of co-president
Zoe Cruz, who had overseen Morgan Stanley’s trading and risk operations.
Cruz (the 16th most powerful woman in the world, according to Forbes
magazine) had been widely seen as Mack’s most likely successor.
Morgan Stanley Asia saw the departure of its then-CEO in January 2008,
when Hans Schuettler decided to retire and move back to his native
Germany after only two years on the job. Schuettler was head of Asia at the
bank during the meteoric rise of the Asian markets. He was succeeded in
February by Owen Thomas, who previously worked in New York as
president of Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Thomas is now
based out of Morgan Stanley Asia’s head office in Hong Kong.
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year before and revenue decreased 17 percent compared to the first quarter
of 2007, the firm’s equity trading group managed to bring in the best quarter
in its history. However, the firm also took two major first-quarter 2008
write-downs, worth a combined USD$2.3 billion, related to its mortgage
and loan businesses. In the second quarter of 2008, the firm posted net
income of USD$1.02 billion, down from the USD$2.36 billion it booked in
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Morgan Stanley remains one of the top players on the investment banking
league tables. In addition to its scores on the M&A charts, the firm ranked
No. 6 in global debt deal volume in 2007, with 1,055 deals that had
proceeds of over USD$361.2 billion. On the charts for Asian equity capital
markets, Morgan Stanley was the No. 4 bookrunner in Asia (excluding
Japan and Australia) with proceeds of about USD$16.7 billion across 68
deals, representing a 7.5 percent market share. In Asia, the firm ranked No.
2 for Asia (excluding Japan and Australia) IPOs with proceeds of nearly
USD$8.7 billion on 31 deals. Morgan Stanley also completed seven deals
in the category of Asian G3 currency bonds (excluding Japan and Australia)
in 2007, enough to give it a No. 10 ranking. The deals totaled USD$1.6
billion worth of proceeds, accounting for a 3.5 percent share of the market.
In Asia, Morgan Stanley also rates highly for its equity franchise, ranking
No. 3 in equity and equity-linked transactions from 2007 until mid-2008,
with a 9.6 percent market share.
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Morgan Stanley
GETTING HIRED
Giving back
Morgan Stanley has a number of programs in place as an equal
opportunities employer in Asia and aims to help local communities. The
firm, with nearly a third of all officers in the region being female, also has
an active women’s network for its female professionals across the region.
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National Australia Bank
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National Australia Bank
THE SCOOP
Representing Australia
National Australia Bank (NAB) represents Australia for National Australia
Bank Group, an international financial services organization whose history
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With more than 38,000 employees, NAB services customers through more
than 790 branches, 150 business banking centers, 110 regional agribusiness
locations and three major contact centers. NAB also maintains a strong
presence in Asia, with branches in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore and
representative offices in China and India. The firm’s Asian operations are
focused on corporate and institutional banking as well as personal financial
services.
The firm’s private banking division caters to the needs of a select group of
high-net-worth clients. Agribusiness handles banking services for rural
Australian businesses, agriculture, forestry and fishing industries.
Servicing a range of customers, from small family farming enterprises to
large multinational operations, the bank’s 550 agribusiness banking
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National Australia Bank
3,200 Australia Post outlets, 1,300 ATMs and internet and telephone
banking access.
Nabbing Asia
Though NAB has been operating since 1858, it only reached out to its Asian
neighbors as recently as 1969, when it opened a representative office in
Tokyo. The Tokyo office quickly became a branch with full operations.
When NAB merged with the Bank of New Zealand in 1994, the firms
combined their Tokyo offices in order to expand their Japanese presence.
In recent times, as the economy has grown in nearby regions such as China,
Singapore and India, NAB has expanded its presence significantly in these
countries. Currently, NAB has branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, and
Tokyo and representative offices in Beijing and Mumbai. The Hong Kong
branch was established in 1986 and provides a range of services including
multicurrency deposits, mortgage financing, treasury sales and telegraphic
transfers.
The bank has been active in Singapore since 1981 and today has a
wholesale banking license that allows it to offer deposit, lending and
investment services. NAB also operates a merchant bank in Singapore
called National Australia Merchant Bank (Singapore), Ltd. Another
Singaporean subsidiary of NAB is Medfin Finance, a financial services
company for healthcare providers which has been in operation for over 17
years.
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National Australia Bank
million. NAB became the first foreign company to benefit from more
relaxed laws that allow foreign companies to acquire a maximum of 20
percent in Chinese trust firms. The alliance of NAB and the Fujian-based
company will most likely result in the offerings of services such as
infrastructure trusts, annuity management and real estate investment trusts.
NAB is also allowed one member to represent them on Union Trust’s board
and has chosen nabCapital CEO John Hooper.
This was NAB’s first major point of entry into the Chinese market, though
the company did enter into a collaboration with China UnionPay in
November 2006 which allowed China UnionPay’s customers to access
NAB’s banks in Australia.
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National Australia Bank
2006, when the firm’s proceeds represented 12.5 percent of the total market
share.
GETTING HIRED
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If you’re just wondering about the basic application procedure, the firm also
covers that, guiding prospective employees through the typical interview
process. Make sure to put your thinking cap on well ahead of time—
according to the web site, the firm does cognitive, psychometric and
competency testing for all of its candidates. If you have any general
questions on the hiring process that are not answered on the careers page,
send an e-mail to nab.careers@nab.com.au.
In addition to its Australian graduate programs, NAB kicked off its Asian
graduate program in early 2008 for Hong Kong and Singapore nationals.
The Asian program includes a 12-month assignment in Australia alongside
participants in the Australian graduate program.
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Asia Pacific region.
Nomura Holdings
Japan Headquarters
THE STATS
1-9-1, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Tokyo 103-8645 Employer Type: Public Company
Japan Ticker Symbol: NMR (NYSE),
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DEPARTMENTS
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Domestic Retail
Global Markets www.nomura.com/europe/careers
Global Investment Banking
Global Merchant Banking
Asset Management
LOCATIONS IN ASIA
PACIFIC
Australia
China
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Taiwan
Thailand (affiliate)
Vietnam
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Nomura Holdings
THE SCOOP
25, 1925 and ever since has been a force of dominance domestically and
abroad. Nomura has offices all over the world including major subsidiaries
in the U.S. and the U.K. In the Asia Pacific region, the firm has offices in
Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Saving Ashikaga
Nomura made a strategic purchase in March 2008 that allowed it to take
over Japanese lender Ashikaga Bank after a two year bidding war.
Ashikaga Bank is a regional bank and top lender that was nationalized by
the Japanese government in 2003, only to be put up for sale again in 2006.
Nomura’s JPY 280 billion bid for Ashikaga was looked on with approval by
locals who wanted a domestic company to buy the bank. Ashikaga was a
casualty of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the move to nationalize it
was an attempt to save the ailing bank.
Aussie alliances
Nomura tapped into the resources of its neighboring Australia recently with
two strategic alliances which will significantly boost its business in the
entire Asian region. The first alliance was an agreement to establish a
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Nomura Holdings
Subprime shakeup
Nomura’s business in the U.S. subprime debacle suffered so significantly
that the Japanese firm announced in October 2007 it would pull out of the
troubled mortgage-backed securities markets altogether. At the time the
decision was made, the firm estimated its total losses due to subprime
fallout at JPY 140 billion. In order to cut costs, the firm also announced
that it would cut about 20 percent of its employees in its U.S. offices—
about 300 people altogether. Nomura’s CEO, Nobuyuki Koga, agreed to
return 30 percent of his pay from 2007 in an attempt to take responsibility
for the massive losses incurred by his firm during the year.
But Koga’s salary sacrifice wouldn’t be enough to save his job. In March 2008,
Nomura Holdings announced that it was ousting its former CEO because of his
failed ability to significantly boost profits. Koga was replaced by Kenichi
Watanabe, a 30-year veteran of Nomura who previously served as executive
vice president of Nomura Securities. Although Koga did not retain his position
as head of Nomura Holdings, the company did not fire him altogether—he is
now the chairman of Nomura Securities. From a remark he made at a press
conference shortly after Nomura reported its second-quarter losses for 2007,
Koga showed that the subprime debacle came so swiftly one could barely
prepare for it. “The pace of the collapse in the residential mortgage-backed
securities market was quicker than we expected,” he said.
The firm will also augment its team in 2008 to make room for two new faces
in top executive spots. Takumi Shibata, former president of the asset
management division, will become Nomura’s chief operating officer, while
Hiromi Yamaji will take over the position of CEO of global investment
banking.
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Nomura Holdings
catapulted Nomura to the top spot in the category of Japanese equity and
equity-related deals. The firm’s No. 1 ranking was due to its 75 deals with
proceeds of USD$10.3 billion, representing a whopping 40.9 percent of the
total market share. Nomura also took the top spot on the equity charts for
the categories of Japan common stock, Japan IPOs, and Japan convertibles.
Internationally, the firm was ranked No. 10 for imputed fees due to equity-
related deals, with fees totaling USD$348.9 million from 169 deals.
In M&A financial advisory, Nomura held on to its 2006 spot as the top fee
earner in Japan with imputed fees in 2007 of USD$151 million coming from
147 deals. In the category of all completed Japanese M&A, Nomura just
missed the top spot. It placed second to Merrill Lynch by less than USD$100
million. The firm’s total value in Japanese M&A in 2007 was still impressive
however, at USD$34.4 billion. The value represents 25.7 percent of the total
share. In 2006, Nomura placed third in the category of all completed M&A.
Nomura also showed modest growth in 2007 on the debt capital markets table,
where it was ranked No. 3 in the category of all Japanese bonds in yen with
193 deals that had proceeds of USD$26 billion. In 2006, the firm was ranked
fifth in that same category with 12.4 percent of the market share, 0.2 percent
less than in 2007. Nomura also scored fourth in the category of imputed fees
for Japanese bond deals, pulling in USD$66 million in fees from 377 deals.
GETTING HIRED
London calling
Graduates for Asia are hired through Nomura’s International Programme, in
which the successful graduate will attend a five-to-six week training
program in London with all other international (non-Tokyo) graduates and
then work in the London office for six to eight months. After this period,
they will transfer to an office in Asia, most often in Hong Kong or
Singapore. You can apply online at www.nomura.com/europe/careers.
Competition for the program is fierce and those interested are advised to
submit their applications no later than the end of September.
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OCBC Group
65 Chulia Street
THE STATS
#29-00 OCBC Centre
Singapore, 049513 Employer Type: Public Company
Phone: +65-6318-7222 Ticker Symbol: OCBC (SGX)
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OCBC Group
THE SCOOP
In addition to its flagship OCBC Bank, the OCBC Group oversees OCBC
Securities Private Limited (its stockbroking arm that offers a full range of
brokerage services for equities and derivatives trading), Great Eastern (the
biggest insurance company in Singapore and Malaysia with SGD$46.5
billion of assets and about 3 million policy holders), Lion Global Investors
(one of the largest asset management companies in Singapore and Southeast
Asia) and Bank of Singapore Limited (which the firm calls “Singapore’s
first pure internet bank”) in Singapore.
In Malaysia, OCBC has been operating in the country for more than seven
decades and its subsidiary, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) is one of the top five
foreign banks there today. With a network of 29 branches located across
both the peninsula and East Malaysia, the bank renders its services to a
diverse range of individuals, as well as corporate and small- and medium-
enterprise (SME) clients, including sole proprietorships and partnerships. It
offers a broad spectrum of specialist financial services in Malaysia
including consumer, corporate and business, investment, premier,
transaction and Islamic banking, and global treasury services.
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OCBC Group
Services awards, and Best SME Cash Management Solution Bank at The
Asset’s Triple A Asset Asian Awards. In 2007, the bank was recognized as
the Third Strongest Bank in Asia Pacific and also as having the Best Multi-
Channel Capability as well as Excellence in Multi-Channel Distribution by
The Asian Banker. In addition, it won the Gold Award for Best Contact
Centre of the Year from the Contact Centre Association of Singapore. The
bank was also voted Best Cash Management Bank by Asiamoney and
FinanceAsia in 2007. Other awards won by the bank in the same year
include Best Cash Management Solution in South East Asia, Best
Secondary Offering in South East Asia and Best Trade Finance Bank by
investment magazine Alpha South East Asia.
On the Thomson Reuters league tables for the first half of 2008, OCBC is
currently ranked No. 5 for the Top Bookrunners of Asia-Pacific Syndicated
Loans and No. 6 for Top Mandated Arrangers of Asia-Pacific Syndicated
Loans.
The firm has a few more projects up its proverbial sleeve as well. In June
2008, the bank announced that it would be partnering with online shopping
service comGateway to launch ShopOnline, which connects customers in
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OCBC Group
Asia with more than 300,000 internet shops based in the U.S. In its initial
stages, the service will be available to cardmember clients of OCBC Bank.
Looking ahead
OCBC’s core earnings have nearly tripled over the past five years, from
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GETTING HIRED
Transition in
The careers link at www.ocbc.com tries to offer its prospective employees
a few new angles, even describing its “career transition program” for
candidates who’ve considered a career in banking but might not have had
the necessary background to successfully apply. Information is also
available on OCBC’s management associate program for those with an
MBA or master’s degree and at least two years of work experience. The
firm also offers a general job posting section, including current openings in
the firm’s Singapore, Malaysia and China offices.
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Ping An Securities
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Ping An Securities
THE SCOOP
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Ping An Securities
percent stake in the fund. But by October 2007, Ping An saw the fund slip
through its fingers, when U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley swooped in
and scooped up Jutian for USD$8.6 million. Perhaps Ping An dodged a
bullet: Jutian’s operations were suspended by the China Securities
Regulatory Commission in late 2006 for misusing clients’ funds.
GETTING HIRED
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RBC Capital Markets
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RBC Capital Markets
THE SCOOP
The Royal Bank of Canada began operation in 1869 and today has over
USD$650 billion in assets, and more than 15 million clients in North
America, Europe and Australia. Based on assets, RBC is the fifth-largest
bank in North America and one of the top 20 globally. Until 2001, RBC
Capital Markets was known as RBC Dominion Securities. The former
Dominion Securities was created in 1901 and purchased by the Royal Bank
of Canada in 1988. In 2000 and 2001, RBC added several boutique
acquisitions to its investment banking arm, including American firms Dain
Rauscher Wessels and Tucker Anthony Sutro. These last two acquisitions
resulted in the formation of RBC Capital Markets in November 2001.
In Asia Pacific, RBC Capital Markets has key offices in Sydney (108
employees), Tokyo (65 employees), Hong Kong (38 employees),
Singapore, Beijing and Mumbai. The firm continues to expand its
operations in the region.
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RBC Capital Markets
Fell began his career with RBC in 1959 when he joined the research
department of Dominion Securities at the age of 20, after graduating from
St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ontario. By 1965, he had become manager
of the department and, in 1967, decided to transfer into to the investment
banking business development group. Fell was appointed a director of the
firm in 1969 and in 1972 became an executive vice president. In September
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Hometown favorite
According to the Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters) 2007
investment banking league tables, RBC Capital Markets was the pride of its
home country, ranking No. 1 in Canadian-announced M&A, up from No. 3
in 2006. The firm announced 67 deals worth a total of $157 billion. RBC
Capital Markets made significant strides in U.S. M&A, jumping 16 places
in U.S. announced deals to No. 20 (from No. 36 in 2006). In Australia, the
firm ranked No. 23 in announced M&A deals, and No. 22 in completed
ones. RBC was impressive on a global scale in 2007 as well, coming in at
No. 20 in worldwide announced M&A, up from No. 31 in 2006.
RBC Capital Markets has also found success in the Australian debt issuance
market. The company has consistently ranked No. 1 on the KangaNews
Kangaroo league tables since 1996.
Brothers in banking
RBC Capital Markets may not have a huge presence in Hong Kong just yet,
but its sister subsidiary, RBC Investment Services (Asia) Ltd., is entirely
devoted to providing clients there with a “broad range of investment
choices.” The investment firm is an extension of RBC’s long presence in
Hong Kong, which stretches back to 1969. In fact, RBC was the first
foreign member to be formally admitted into the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange. RBC Investment Services (Asia) is a full service brokerage, and
also offers international advisory services for portfolio management.
RBC also has private banking and wealth management services in Asia.
These offices are headquartered in Singapore and offer deposits, foreign
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RBC Capital Markets
GETTING HIRED
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Rothschild
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Rothschild
THE SCOOP
wealth. During World War II, the Nazis incorporated elements from a 1934
Hollywood film about the family called The House of Rothschild as
propaganda to show the purported egregious wealth of the Jewish people,
and in the Hebrew language version of the song “If I Were a Rich Man”
from Fiddler on the Roof, the translation of the title of the song is “If I Were
a Rothschild.” The family is not only known for its opulence, but also for
its philanthropy and community work.
The London office of N.M. Rothschild & Sons is situated on the same
corner it was back in 1811: the New Court at St. Swithin’s Lane. But the
institution has changed drastically through the years. A French branch
called de Rothschild Freres was founded by James Mayer Rothschild in the
early 19th century, and was later nationalized by a socialist French
government in 1982. In that year, Baron David de Rothschild, the current
chairman of N.M. Rothschild & Sons, rebuilt a new bank from scratch with
only three employees. In 2003, the British arm and the French arm of the
Rothschild’s bank came together under the leadership of a new holding
company called Concordia B.V. Concordia owns a controlling interest in
Rothschild Continuation Holdings, the parent company of N.M. Rothschild.
M&A mavericks
N.M. Rothschild’s is known for its global prowess in M&A deals, garnering
top spots in the global rankings in terms of numbers of deals. In 2007, the
company ranked No. 8 for all announced European deals and No. 7 for all
completed deals, according to Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters).
Globally, it was ranked No. 10. Rothschild also ranked in the top 10 earners
for imputed fees in Chinese M&A. It saw its earnings jump 62.9 percent in
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Rothschild
In fact, some of the bank’s biggest deals in the M&A arena were in China.
The bank advised BBVA on its USD$1.3 billion investment in China’s
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In the equity capital markets category, one of the company’s top deals was
advising online business-to-business trade company Alibaba.com in its
USD$1.5 billion IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The firm racked
up major profits in India with its debt advisory business, working on deals
such as the offer made for Corus Group by Tata Steel, valued at
approximately GBP 6.2 billion. The company also worked out a hedging
strategy with Cairn India related to its USD$1.9 billion IPO.
Rumor has it, however, that the firm could be shopping around for a new
joint venture which can help it restore its capabilities as an underwriter.
Chairman David de Rothschild, the Rothschild Group chairman, said the
following upon the announcement of the news: “This is a logical time for
the two banks to pursue their separate paths, although in doing so we part
as firm friends. We are excited by the potential for furthering Rothschild’s
franchise as trusted adviser in the equity capital markets and the new
opportunities which our chosen model will create for us.”
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Rothschild
GETTING HIRED
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Royal Bank of Scotland
Fax: +44 (0) 131 557 6140 Chairman: Sir Tom McKillop
www.rbs.com Group CEO: Sir Fred Goodwin
Revenue: GBP 33.4 billion (FYE 12/07)
Net Income: GBP 7.55 billion
DEPARTMENTS (FYE 12/07)
Global Markets No. of Employees: 170,000
Group Manufacturing No. of Offices & Global Branches: 2,720
Regional Markets
Group Functions
KEY COMPETITORS
RBS Insurance
Barclays
Citigroup
LOCATIONS IN HSBC Holdings
ASIA PACIFIC
Australia • China • Hong Kong • EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
India • Indonesia • Japan • South
Korea • Malaysia • New Zealand • Graduate recruitment for RBS Group:
Pakistan • Philippines • Singapore • www.makeitrbs.com
Taiwan • Thailand • Vietnam
Graduate recruitment for Global
Markets: www.rbs.com/gmgraduates
Careers: www.rbs.com/careers
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Royal Bank of Scotland
THE SCOOP
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Royal Bank of Scotland
In January 2008, RBS made its mark more distinctive by renaming its
private banking division RBS Coutts. RBS Coutts taps into the significant
wealth growth of Asia by serving clients with more than USD$500,000 in
investable assets or clients with a net worth of more than USD$5 million.
In 2007, Asiamoney magazine named RBS Coutts the No. 1 wealth
manager for clients with assets of more than USD$25 million.
Strategic alliance
RBS joined a consortium of investors including the Li Ka Shing Foundation
and Merrill Lynch in 2006, buying a 10 percent share in one of China’s
largest banks: the Bank of China. The group shelled out about USD$3.1
billion for a stake in China’s second-biggest lender, with RBS investing
USD$1.6 billion dollars. RBS’s goal is to build on Bank of China’s
distribution strength and expand its credit card, wealth management,
corporate banking and personal insurance business lines in China.
The two banks are cooperating in the key areas of corporate governance,
risk management, financial management, human resources and information
technology. Bank of China went public on the Hong Kong and Shanghai
exchanges in June 2006, diluting RBS’ stake from 10 percent to 4.26
percent. The Chinese government holds a 67 percent stake.
Rosy results
Despite subprime losses, the Royal Bank of Scotland outperformed analyst
expectations in 2007 with an 18 percent profit increase and an 11 percent
increase in revenue. RBS attributes its solid earnings to its domestic
banking operations, which remained stable despite fluctuating markets.
Profits for the year were GBP 7.7 billion, up from GBP 6.5 billion in 2006.
The firm’s path through the volatile 2007 markets was not all smooth
sailing. In December, RBS announced that it would have to write-down
GBP 1.5 billion (USD$3 billion), due to problems in the credit markets.
The write-downs were broken down into three categories: asset backed
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Royal Bank of Scotland
Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters), in the fourth quarter, RBS was
the leading underwriter for international securitizations, holding a 13.4
percent market share. For all of 2007, RBS was the No. 9 bookrunner in
global debt, with 787 deals worth USD$282.2 billion. It was also the No.
5 manager of global mortgage-backed securities and No. 6 manager of
global asset-backed securities, with 97 deals worth USD$79.8 billion and
141 deals worth USD$67.3 billion, respectively. On the global project
finance tables, RBS fell from its 2006 top spot to No. 2, working on 68
issues worth USD$11.8 billion.
GETTING HIRED
If you’re a penultimate-year student with your heart set on banking, you can
look into RBS’ 10-week summer internships, available in Global Markets
and covering all investment banking opportunities, finance, human
resources, internal audit and risk.
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Royal Bank of Scotland
Sign here…
Applications are submitted online, but you’ll need to register on the site
first. The selection process varies from division to division. If you meet
the minimum requirements, you’ll be asked to complete an online
competency questionnaire, followed by a numerical reasoning test. The
next step is a telephone or face-to-face interview.
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Samsung Securities
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Samsung Securities
THE SCOOP
largest corporations and best known for its electronics business, in 1992.
The firm’s investment banking unit was formed in 1998. Today, Samsung
is South Korea’s top securities firm by market value. The Seoul-based firm
offers retail brokerage and wealth management services to individual
investors, and institutional brokerage, investment advisory, investment
banking and capital markets services to public and private enterprises.
Samsung’s 2,635 employees work from 94 branches throughout South
Korea, in addition to four overseas offices in New York, London, Hong
Kong and Shanghai.
A slushy mess
Parent company Samsung Group and Samsung Securities were under
investigation in late 2007 and into early 2008, as authorities were following
up on allegations from the group’s former chief in-house lawyer that
Samsung Group had been managing slush funds for the bribery of
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Samsung Securities
Financial authorities said they suspected more than 3,700 accounts were
opened by the Samsung Group using false names. Bribery claims were
ultimately dismissed by the prosecution due to a lack of evidence, though
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A week after his indictment, Lee stepped down on April 22, 2008 in a
nationally televised news conference. Samsung Securities CEO Ho-won
Bae also resigned his post on the same day. In June, Bae was replaced by
Junhyun Park, formerly the vice president of Samsung Life Insurance.
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Samsung Securities
However, the firm is out there looking for talent—for example, the firm’s
CEO was recently in New York and met with as many applicants as
possible. In addition, Samsung Securities manages several recruiting
offices outside of South Korea. For those enrolled in graduate school or
above who are interested in being recruited or joining a two-month summer
internship, the firm recommends that you “check the Korean Student
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The site also notes that recruiting for overseas candidates is generally done
every September, whereas recruitment for summer internships falls at the
beginning of the year. For the internship program, a resume and cover letter
can be submitted to sewon531.oh@samsung.com. This e-mail address can
also be used for further hiring questions.
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Asia Pacific region.
Société Générale
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Société Générale
THE SCOOP
Rogue raider
Société Générale is one of the largest banks in the world, with over 60
subsidiaries operating in 82 countries. The massive company is organized
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into three main branches: Retail Banking & Financial Services, Global
Investment Management & Services and Corporate and Investment
Banking. Each of these divisions has major operations in Central and
Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and Africa. In recent years, the
company has significantly expanded its investment banking operations and
asset management companies into the Asia Pacific region.
Société Générale is not just one of the biggest banks in France and Europe,
it’s also one of the oldest. The bank was officially created under Napoleon
III back in May 1864 and has since survived through two World Wars.
From 1965 to 1990, Société Générale rode the boom of modern banking
and became a world leader in the banking arena. Today, the bank is ranked
No. 49 on the Fortune Global 500.
No spin zone
No matter how you spin the numbers, Société Générale had a very tough
year in 2007. Thanks in part to the Kerviel trading scandal, the company
booked an 80 percent decline in gross operating income and a EUR 3.3
billion net loss in the fourth quarter alone. The year-end numbers were no
better. Group net income for the whole year ending December 31, 2007
was only EUR 947 million, down 81.9 percent from the previous year. The
firm’s stock price lost nearly 50 percent of its value, and the bank suffered
from the collapse of the credit market, taking a write-down of EUR 2.6
billion as a result of collateralized debt obligations and mortgage-backed
securities.
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Société Générale
Pressing on in China
Despite the major hits Société Générale has taken over the past year, the
company still wants to focus on expanding its presence in Asia, especially
in China. The bank will be incorporating its Chinese operations in May
2008, offering corporate and investment banking, retail banking and wealth
management services in the flourishing nation. Patrick Soulard, the bank’s
deputy chief executive of corporate and investment banking, recently said
that although the Kerviel scandal and poor market conditions were set
backs, the bank’s resilience would win out, adding that Société Générale is
very focused on Asia’s emerging markets and China in particular.
Indian appetite
Before the news about Kerviel and the subsequent loss of the fraud case hit
the press, Société Générale had some more positive tidings to report. In
December 2007, the company’s investment banking division, Société
Générale Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB), partnered with
Ambit, an Indian company, to offer M&A advisory services for cross-
border transactions. The exclusive agreement is a win-win scenario for
both companies: SG CIB will get the opportunity to handle Ambit’s
European transactions and Ambit will be offered the chance to “identify,
introduce, and execute transactions” for its European clients. SG CIB has
handled cross-border mergers such as Mittal Steel’s acquisition by Arcelor
as well as the acquisition Bristol Water by Agbar.
In April 2008, Société Générale also signed the final agreement with
Indiabulls for the creation of a life insurance joint venture in India.
Société steps up
In 2006, Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking rearranged
some of its business divisions as part of a program called “Step Up 2010”—
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Société Générale
In 2007, there was a slight reorganization in the Asia Pacific arm of the
Capital Raising and Finance division. Jackson Cheung left his position as
head of the Asian division as he was promoted to head Société Générale’s
Chinese operations in Beijing. He was replaced by Ashley Wilkins in
December. Wilkins is now stationed in Hong Kong, where he reports to
Jean-Luc Parer, the global head of Capital Raising and Financing.
Still a contender
Though Société Générale suffered from the scandal in 2007, the incident
did not have much impact on its international investment banking rankings
on the Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters) league tables. The
company worked on 73 announced M&A deals during 2007 worth a total of
USD$231 billion, giving it a rank of No. 17 on the global charts. That’s one
rank higher than 2006, when Société Générale’s deals were valued at
USD$157 billion and it ranked No. 18. The company also managed to get
a spot on the Australian charts for announced M&A. From only two deals,
Société Générale’s activities had a value of USD$192 billion, representing
47.5 percent of the market share.
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Société Générale
GETTING HIRED
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Standard Chartered Bank
Head Office
THE STATS
1 Basinghall Avenue
London, EC2V 5DD Employer Type: Public Company
United Kingdom Ticker Symbol: STAN (LSE),
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Standard Chartered Bank
THE SCOOP
Royal banking
The Chartered Bank was founded by an emissary of Queen Victoria in
1853. The first branches opened in Mumbai, Calcutta and Shanghai in
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Later in 1969, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China merged
with the Standard Bank of British South Africa—forming today’s Standard
Chartered Bank. Standard Bank was founded in South Africa in 1863 by
John Paterson and grew throughout the continent of Africa over the next
100 years, becoming prosperous as the result of financing diamond and
gold mining in the region.
After the merger, Standard Chartered entered a period of change. Since the
early 1990s, Standard Chartered has focused on developing its franchises in
Asia, the Middle East and Africa, using its operations in the U.K. and North
America to provide customers a bridge between these markets. The
company also focuses on consumer, corporate and institutional banking and
on the provision of treasury services.
Historic ties
Standard Chartered PLC, listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ranks among the top 25 companies in the
FTSE-100 by market capitalization. In Asia Pacific, Standard Chartered has
the unique advantage of longevity. The bank has maintained a major
presence in India, Hong Kong and Singapore for almost 150 years and has
also played a historic role in linking the financial and cultural centers of
Europe and the Americas to Asia and the East. The London-headquartered
group has not only been a major player in Asia Pacific, but also has been a
banking powerhouse in Africa and the Middle East. It derives more than 90
per cent of its operating income and profits from Asia, Africa and the
Middle East.
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Standard Chartered Bank
At the time of the acquisition, the bank had private banking operations in
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Seoul, Mumbai, New Delhi,
Dubai, London and Jersey. The purchase of American Express’ wealth
management and international dollar clearing operations will add
approximately 10,000 new customers with USD$22.5 billion in assets to
Standard Chartered’s portfolio. The private banking arm targets high net
worth customers with between USD$1 million and USD$50 million in
assets.
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Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered saw increases from 2006 profits in nearly every region
that it operates out of in Asia Pacific. In Hong Kong, profits were up 34
percent in 2007 to USD$1.1 billion. In Singapore, things were even more
impressive with a 54 percent increase over 2006’s profits. India performed
almost as well as China, bringing in USD$690 million in profits, which
amounted to a 71 percent increase from 2006’s numbers.
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On the charts for M&A deal volume, Standard Chartered ranked No. 7 in
announced deals with Hochinma (Hong Kong, China, India and Malaysia)
involvement. The company completed 11 deals valued at USD$473.9
billion.
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Standard Chartered Bank
Jobseekers are also able to search for job opportunities in Asia by division
and country. In Consumer Banking, job opportunities can be found in
China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and India. In the
Wholesale Banking division, jobseekers can search for positions in China,
Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and India.
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Asia Pacific region.
State Bank of India
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State Bank of India
THE SCOOP
SBI was the first Indian bank to offer merchant banking and also the first
Indian bank to launch mutual fund services in the country. Today, the bank
operates through seven associate banks and six subsidiaries within India. It
also has six major foreign subsidiaries across the globe. The bank’s major
divisions are the International Banking Group, the Wholesale Banking
Group, the Mid Corporate Group, the National Banking Group and the
Rural Business Group.
The company also operates in a number of other areas through joint venture
SBI Life Insurance Company, and subsidiaries SBI Capital Markets, SBI
Funds Management, SBI DFHI (for securities in debt markets) and SBI
Factors and Commercial Services. Overseas, the bank operates through a
number of subsidiaries including those in Canada, the U.S., Mauritius,
Nigeria, Nepal and Bhutan.
Inside view
The Wholesale Banking Group, which primarily serves the bank’s largest
corporate clients, is divided into three units—corporate accounts, project
finance and leasing, and stressed asset management. The Mid Corporate
Group performs similar functions as Wholesale Banking Group, but for
mid-cap companies.
Rural India is where SBI is betting big. 70 percent of new branches have
been constructed in rural and semi-urban areas. The Rural Business Group
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State Bank of India
In 1921, all three of the banks were synthesized into the Imperial Bank of
India (IBI). The newly formed bank played the role of a commercial bank,
a banker’s bank and a banker to the government. With the formation of the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1935, IBI ceased to be the government’s
banker, but continued to act as treasurer for RBI and the government. Many
restrictions were abolished, allowing IBI to assume the role of a pure
commercial bank. At the time of independence in 1947, IBI had a capital
base of INR 1.18 billion, a network of 172 branches and more than 200 sub-
offices across over the country. However, most of rural India remained
untouched by banking.
Winds of change
Since 1991, the Indian banking sector has undergone dramatic changes.
One of the primary reasons was the entry of private players like ICICI Bank
and HDFC Bank into this sector. In order to maintain its lead in the market,
SBI has taken a few important measures.
The first initiative was computerization of its huge branch network to inter-
connect all of its branches, starting in June 2002. The bank also instituted
as voluntary retirement scheme, which was initiated in 2001 and 2002 in
order to downsize its workforce of more than 200,000. Through this
scheme, employees were reduced to just over 20,000.
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State Bank of India
GETTING HIRED
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State Bank of India
The bank plans to set up 3,000 more branches over next few years to
support its operations in India and worldwide. To address future employee
requirement, SBI has initiated the recruitment process of the supporting
staff. It is set to recruit close to 20,000 personnel in 2008.
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Sumitomo Mitsui Banking
Corporation
1-2, Yurakucho 1-Chome
THE STATS
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, 100-0006 Employer Type: Subsidiary of
Japan Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
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LOCATIONS IN
ASIA PACIFIC EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Australia www.smbcgroup.com
China
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam
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Asia Pacific region.
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Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
THE SCOOP
largest bank behind Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial
Group. The firm has nearly 18,000 employees working from 413 offices in
Japan and 18 international locations. SMBC offers services including
deposits, loans, commodities trading, securities investment, domestic and
foreign exchange, futures trading, bond fiduciary and registration, trust,
securities brokerage and insurance.
Despite its entry into other markets and industry segments, Japanese
banking remains Sumitomo’s pride and joy. As of March 31, 2008, SMBC
had more than JPY 100 billion in assets.
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Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
business.
SMBC projected its subprime losses for the fiscal year ending March 2008
to be USD$920 million. For the nine months ended December 31, 2007,
SMBC included USD$12.2 billion in write-downs on securities and loans
related to the U.S. home loan market. However, Sumitomo officials denied
any serious fallout from the subprime-related costs. “We turned the corner
on the problem,” one SMFG executive told Kyodo News International in
January 2008.
Hiring spree
Things must not be looking too grim from atop SMBC, because in January
2008, the firm’s parent company announced plans to increase headcount by
44 percent in 2009. SMBC alone will add 2,400 new full-time employees,
with the goal of boosting sales of investment funds and reducing
dependency on part-time staff. The firm plans to assign 600 bankers to its
headquarters to work in corporate and investment banking, hire 500
employees to sell investment products and bring on 1,300 others to work at
branches. In November 2007, SMBC’s deputy president, Osamu Endo,
said that the bank wants to increase revenue from individuals by USD$917
million within three years by selling more funds and other financial
products.
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
GETTING HIRED
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Sun Hung Kai Financial
LOCATIONS IN ASIA
PACIFIC EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Brunei www.shkco.com/en/careers/main.html
China
Hong Kong
Macau
Singapore
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Sun Hung Kai Financial
THE SCOOP
The firm, which in 2007 was named Best Broker in Hong Kong by
FinanceAsia, focuses on five main business areas: wealth management and
brokerage, asset management, corporate finance, consumer finance and
principal investments. The corporate finance group offers IPO, M&A,
corporate restructuring and capital markets advisory services. As of June
2008, SHKF had over HKD$60 billion in assets under management. The
firm’s 1,300 employees work from offices in Hong Kong, mainland China,
Macau, Singapore and Brunei.
Sun Hung Kai & Co. Limited was founded in 1969 by Fung King Hey,
Kwok Tak Seng and Lee Shau Kee—though it is now primarily controlled
by a family trust set up by Kwok Tak Seng. Branching out in the 1970s and
1980s, Sun Hung Kai Securities Limited was listed on the stock market in
Hong Kong in 1975, followed by Sun Hung Kai & Co. Limited in 1983.
Shenzhen and Shanghai came next, as Sun Hung Kai Investment Services
Limited began trading on both exchanges in 1993—one of the first
approved brokers and lead underwriters on those exchanges. In 2006, the
firm took on the name Sun Hung Kai Financial to assemble all of its
financial businesses under one roof.
Streamlining effort
As part of an ongoing effort to streamline is business to focus exclusively
on wealth management, brokerage, asset management, capital markets and
consumer finance, SHFK agreed in June 2007 to sell off its 22.43 percent
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Sun Hung Kai Financial
GETTING HIRED
Explore opportunities
At SHKF’s careers page at www.shkco.com/en/careers/main.html, you can
explore a list of the company’s current job opportunities, which span all the
firm’s divisions. If you find a position that you think you’d be suited for,
send your resume, “present and expected salary” and contact information to
Sun Hung Kai’s human resources department at hr@shkf.com.
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Asia Pacific region.
Taifook Securities Group
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Taifook Securities Group
THE SCOOP
Established in 1973, Taifook has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange since 1996. Taifook has 11 branches in Hong Kong and Macau,
and six investment consultancy centers in mainland China in Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Xiamen. The firm has
underwritten or placed shares for over 200 companies in Hong Kong on
IPOs and secondary placements, and has also advised on more than 250
mergers and acquisitions, asset exchange and debt restructuring
transactions.
Areas of focus
Taifook operates in six main areas. Its broking segment engages in
securities, futures, options and gold bullion contracts broking and dealing.
Margin and other financing handles margin financing, as well as personal
and commercial loans to individuals and corporations. Corporate advisory
offers placement and underwriting services. The trading and investment
segment engages in investment holding in addition to trading of securities,
futures, options and bullion contracts. Taifook also offers financial
planning and advisory services, as well as fund management, custodian and
handling services, and leveraged foreign exchange trading. In March 2007,
Taifook expanded its asset management business with the acquisition of
Kingsway Fund Management Limited.
True believer
Demonstrating its belief that Taifook is a promising player in the Hong
Kong and China markets, NWS Holdings increased its stake in the
brokerage to over 60 percent in June 2007. NWS had held 21.5 percent of
Taifook since 2003 and had been its largest shareholder. NWS paid
USD$77 million for another 41 percent of Taifook, which brought its total
stake to 62.5 percent.
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Taifook Securities Group
Memorable player
Taifook’s financial services have been recognized with a number of awards.
In recent years, the firm has been named the Best Equity House in Hong
Kong by international and local publications, including FinanceAsia,
Asiamoney and Euromoney. In January 2008, Capital magazine named
Taifook its Best Brokerage Company for 2007.
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GETTING HIRED
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UBS Investment Bank
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
www.ubs.com/graduates
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Vault Guide to the Top Banking Employers • 2009 Asia Pacific Edition
UBS Investment Bank
THE SCOOP
The investment bank has won a number of major awards for its operations
in Asia in recent years. Financial publication Euromoney gave the bank the
honor of Best Investment Bank Asia 2008. For China, FinanceAsia named
it the Best Foreign Investment Bank in July 2008. China's official
Securities Times newspaper named the bank Best Joint Venture Investment
Bank, also awarding it Most Influential IPO for its involvement in
PetroChina's initial public offering in 2007. For its operations in the
Philippines, FinanceAsia rated the bank the Best Foreign Investment Bank
in 2008, and Euromoney called it the country's Best Equity House.
The current version of UBS was formed in 1998 with a merger between the
Union Bank of Switzerland and the Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC). SBC
dated back to the 1870s; during the course of its international growth, it had
acquired a number of foreign firms. One of these, London’s S.G. Warburg
Group, became SBC’s investment banking division (SBC Warburg). In
1997, SBC Warburg brought its business to the U.S. through the acquisition
of Dillon, Read & Co. After the UBS-SBC merger in 1998, the investment
bank’s name was mercifully shortened from SBC Warburg Dillon Read to
the Investment Bank. In 2000, UBS listed its shares on the New York Stock
Exchange. That same year, the firm bought New York-based PaineWebber
for USD$11.8 billion, further solidifying its presence in the U.S. market.
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UBS Investment Bank
USD$10 billion in losses, it seemed the troubles had just begun. The firm
was forced to shore up capitalization from foreign companies.
Two sources came to the beleaguered bank’s aid quickly in December 2007:
the Singaporean government and an unnamed Middle East investor.
Together, the two investors pumped CHF 13 billion (USD$12.4 billion) into
the firm. The Singapore government’s investment gave it a 9 percent stake
in UBS. For the fourth quarter of 2007, the firm announced a USD$11.3
billion loss—the largest reported by any bank for that quarter, including
Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, who also suffered large losses related to
subprime exposure—and a loss of USD$4 billion for the year, the first
annual net loss in the bank's history. For the year, UBS reported nearly
USD$14 billion in write-downs of assets.
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UBS Investment Bank
Despite its long history and track record across Europe and the U.S., UBS
had a rocky road when it came to expanding its wealth management
business into the Asia-Pacific region. In 2002, it had to close its Japanese
branch for lack of business. In May 2004, the firm got into trouble with the
Indian Securities and Exchange board when it was implicated in trading
irregularities that led to a crash of the Bombay Stock Exchange. But the
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The Swiss bank’s results were more dominant on the equity capital markets
tables. UBS took the top spot in the global equity chart, with 365 deals with
proceeds of USD$81.2 billion. That was a crucial bump from last year’s
finish, when it ranked No. 3. UBS also snagged the top spots for global
common stock bookrunner and global IPO bookrunner, with USD$70.3
billion and USD$33.9 billion in proceeds, respectively.
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UBS Investment Bank
jumped two spots to get to the top, and increased its total percentage of the
market share by 8.5 percent. The proceeds due to these IPO deals reached
USD$14.9 billion, representing a 17.5 percent share of the market. In 2008,
UBS has been involved in a number of major IPOs in Asia. Early in the
year, UBS was one of the joint bookrunners on India's record-breaking
USD$2.96 billion IPO for Reliance Power. Later in 2008, the firm was the
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UBS also topped the announced Asian M&A deal volume charts in 2007.
The firm’s 41 deals, worth a total of USD$75 billion, represented a 16.9
percent share of the market. That volume was up an impressive 130.6
percent from the firm’s numbers in 2006, when it worked on USD$32
billion in deals and ranked No. 3. UBS also took home the top spot in
imputed M&A advisory fees, earning USD$209.1 million on 36 completed
deals. For 2008, the firm acted as exclusive financial advisor on China
Telecom's massive USD$15.8 billion acquisition of China Unicom's
CDMA business and network. UBS was also the financial advisor on
Telecom Malaysia's proposed demerger of its mobile and fixed line
businesses, which clocked in at USD$10.3 billion.
A passage to India
With its firm footing in Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, UBS is seeking
to expand its businesses into the growing Indian region. UBS launched its
India Service Centre in Hyderabad in June 2006, the firm’s first group-wide
offshoring facility. The bank approved approval from the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) to open a branch in Mumbai in February 2008—almost three
and half years after it first applied in August 2004—and is the first
international bank without an existing retail presence in India to have been
granted a license.
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UBS Investment Bank
also awarded the chairmanship of the investment bank. But his tenure with
UBS came to an abrupt end in October 2007 as the bank reported its
massive third-quarter loss.
UBS Group CEO Marcel Rohner took over for Jenkins and named himself
CEO of UBS Investment Bank, also saying that he would trim 1,500 jobs
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from the unit. At the time, Rohner had been at the helm of UBS for just
three months—he had succeeded Peter Wuffli in July 2007 following
Wuffli's resignation.
On February 13, 2008, the day before its fourth-quarter 2007 earnings
release, Rohner announced that he had appointed Jerker Johansson to serve
as chairman and CEO of UBS Investment Bank. Johansson, formerly
Morgan Stanley’s European vice chairman, took his post in March 2008. In
announcing his appointment, Rohner was quick to point out that the
investment bank’s problems were confined to the fixed income division,
and he expected the business to make a full recovery. “While this has been
a difficult time for the investment bank, because of the losses in fixed
income, we have continued to see strong performances in both our equities
and our investment banking divisions,” he said in a statement.
At the release of first-quarter results in April 2008, the firm also announced
that board of directors chairman Marcel Ospel would not be standing for re-
election to the board. Peter Kurer, group general counsel of UBS, was
nominated to succeed Ospel as chairman.
There's also a new CFO in town. In August 2008, UBS named John Cryan,
who previously headed up the financial institutions group at the investment
bank, its new chief financial officer to replace Marco Suter as of September
2008.
Peter Kurer began to make some big changes in July 2008 to pacify
investors, who’ve been extremely frustrated with the way UBS has
performed in the wake of the credit crisis—at the time, its stock was down
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65 percent since announcing its first major write-downs in fall 2007. Kurer,
who took the top post in April 2008, abolished the chairman’s office, a part
of the firm’s board management. In August, UBS appointed Sally Bott,
Rainer-Marc Frey, Bruno Gehrig and William G. Parrett to the Group
Executive Board in an effort to “add to the overall breadth and depth of
expertise.” Kurer told The Wall Street Journal that the changes should set
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“an example for the rest of the company that we should keep things simple,
reduce complexity [and] reduce bureaucracy."
In August 2008, UBS also announced a major restructuring, hot on the heels
of its announcement of second-quarter results. The bank's three business
divisions—investment banking, private banking and asset management—
are now separated into autonomous units. In a press release, Kurer
explained the change by saying, "Our review has clearly revealed the
weaknesses associated with the integrated 'one firm' business model."
For the investment banking division, the firm's goal is to continue focusing
on client-driven growth, as well as further reducing its balance sheet and
risk positions. In a statement, UBS added, "Each business line—equities,
investment banking and fixed income, currencies and commodities—will
be measured by individual return on capital targets. A new compensation
plan will balance risk and reward."
GETTING HIRED
Insiders say the firm “is extremely diverse in recruiting people with
different experiences,” which makes for a broad candidate pool. And, adds
a source, this “should, logically, make it easier for people to get hired.
However, the internal processes and check points are often lengthy, and in
a volatile market, it’s extremely challenging for people to get hired.” In
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some cases, the process goes on so long that “by the time approval is
obtained, the potential candidate has moved on to an alternative job.”
who defected from Citi says, “I went through only a couple of interviews,
as I had known the team at UBS prior to applying.” Depending on the level
of the job, the average candidate will “typically be interviewed by
recruiters, the line manager, possibly country managers and the regional
functional manager.”
One director recalls going through “two interviews with my direct manager
and another manager,” and notes that junior hires may have to take
“numerical and logical reasoning and tests.” “I had three interviews with
executive and managing directors, as well as three hours of psychometric
testing,” confirms an analyst.
During the summer, interns “get real project work and training,” which lets
them play a hands-on role in the “day-to-day functioning of their teams.”
“They get structured reviews as well,” adds an insider. “I worked in risk
management doing tasks and roles that other employees would have been
doing had I not been there,” a former intern says. “The internship gave me
great exposure to the firm, its culture, the people I would be working with
and the type of work I would be doing.”
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that’s “great and inclusive of all employees.” Others call the firm
“friendly” and “family-oriented,” with “lots of integrity” and a “sensible
approach to work/life balance.” There’s a strong focus on “teamwork and
cooperation.” “I’m not micro-managed,” one insider says.
opportunities for “moving within the firm,” some say the administrative
culture is “not very organized.” One insider says some processes seem “not
very well thought through or coordinated,” and adds that UBS is becoming
more conservative in light of tough economic times worldwide. “It went
through a period of seemingly unrestrained growth,” he says. “And when
the market turned, it had to face a difficult reality.” As a result, some parts
of the firm have seen slowdowns in “people’s career progression.”
Average hours
Compensation isn’t bad, but it isn’t extraordinary, sources say. Perks,
which can vary by country, include “investment opportunities, stock
options, salary packaging,” “low-interest mortgage loans,” a “private health
care plan,” and, in some locations, “a meal allowance and company-
provided snacks.” A Hong Kong source reports enjoying “corporate
discounts with a gym, retailers and clubs.”
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United Overseas Bank Group
80 Raffles Place
THE STATS
UOB Plaza
Singapore, 048624 Employer Type: Public Company
Phone: +65-6533-9898 Ticker Symbol: UOB (SES)
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United Overseas Bank Group
THE SCOOP
At the end of 2007, the company had total assets of nearly SGD$175
billion. On the year, UOB achieved record net profits of SGD$2.1 billion.
In accepting his new job, Wee Ee Cheong announced that he did not plan to
make any major changes to management, but noted plans to further build
UOB’s presence in Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand, Malaysia and
Vietnam, as well as placing more emphasis on China.
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Doubling up in Vietnam
One example of UOB’s expanded focus in Vietnam is its effort to double its
holding in Vietnam’s Southern Commercial Bank. In December 2007,
UOB finalized a deal to buy 10 percent of the Vietnamese bank, a share
worth about USD$30 million, and signed an application to the State Bank
of Vietnam asking for permission to raise UOB’s investment in the bank to
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Assets in China
One month after the Southern Commercial Bank announcement, Wee Ee
Cheong’s plan to boost UOB’s presence in China proved true as well.
China Daily reported in January 2008 that UOB Asset Management,
Singapore’s largest asset manager, was planning a joint venture fund
management company with Ping An Securities, the securities arm of
China’s second-largest insurer.
Singapore’s finest
UOB has been consistently recognized for its performance, earning a
number of accolades and awards from leading publications and
organizations in the financial services industry. In 2008, on DP Information
Group’s Singapore 1000 Rankings, UOB was granted a Net Profit
Excellence Award in the finance category for the second year in a row. In
2007, the firm achieved Top Rated status for excellence in providing
custody services, according to Global Custodian’s 2007 Major Market
Agent Bank Review. Asian Banking and Finance named UOB the Best
SME Bank in Asia Pacific for 2007. On Euromoney’s 2007 Private
Banking Survey, UOB was named Best Local Private Bank in Singapore.
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GETTING HIRED
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Westpac
Headquarters
THE STATS
Level 20, Westpac Place
275 Kent St. Employer Type: Public Company
Sydney, 2000 Ticker Symbol: WBS (ASX),
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LOCATIONS IN ASIA
PACIFIC
Australia
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
New Zealand
Pacific Islands
Singapore
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Westpac
THE SCOOP
As of September 30, 2007, the end of fiscal 2007 in Australia, the firm had
global assets of AUD$375 billion and was ranked in the top 10 of listed
companies by market capitalization on the Australian Securities Exchange.
For the 2007 fiscal year, Westpac recorded cash earnings of AUD$3.51
billion, up 14 percent from 2006. Net profit was up as well, by 12 percent
to a record AUD$3.45 billion.
Rough-and-tumble beginnings
Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, Westpac is Australia’s
first bank as well as the country’s first public company. When the bank first
opened its doors, it operated from small premises leased from an ex-convict
turned businesswoman. It was a challenging time of growth for the nation,
and for the bank.
Westpac’s major expansion began after gold was discovered in New South
Wales and Victoria. In 1850, it opened its very first branch outside NSW at
Moreton Bay in Brisbane, and as the branches expanded, some were set up
where no town yet existed. But even a branch as primitive as a tent lent
stability to the rough-and-ready gold fields, and earned the respect of the
hardened community. As they flourished, tents and bark huts eventually
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The name Westpac Bank was adopted in 1982, following a merger with the
Victorian-based Commercial Bank of Australia Ltd. By its consolidation,
Westpac became Australia’s biggest banking group at the time.
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Retail and Business Banking is responsible for sales and services for
consumer and business customers across Australia. Representation extends
to branches, call centers, business banking centers, management of third-
party distribution, automatic teller machines and online and regional
banking. Retail and Business Banking also manages the retail branch
operations in Hong Kong and Singapore. In January 2008, Westpac
acquired the RAMS Home Loans brand and distribution network. Retail
and Business Banking operates the RAMS distribution business separately
from the existing Westpac channel and under the RAMS brand.
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The business area called Product and Operations provides all aspects of
consumer and business banking product management, including product
design, manufacturing and risk, while Technology focuses on the execution
of IT projects across the enterprise.
History-making CEO
In August 2007, Westpac announced that Gail Kelly, the CEO of fellow
Aussie bank St.George, would succeed David Morgan as CEO of Westpac
on February 1, 2008. The appointment makes Kelly the first female CEO
of a Big Four bank in Australia.
Kelly, a native South African and former teacher, was appointed CEO of
St.George Bank in December 2001 and became managing director in
January 2002. Under her leadership, St.George consistently met or
exceeded its management targets, delivering outstanding financial
performance. Since the commencement of the 2002 financial year, the firm
has more than doubled its total assets (now exceeding AUD$100 billion)
and more than doubled its profits (now exceeding AUD$1 billion).
In March 2008, Kelly made the first of what some expect to be many
additions and changes to personnel at Westpac. She hired her former right-
hand man at St.George Bank, Peter Clare, to lead the consumer financial
services division, Westpac’s second-biggest moneymaker. Clare is now the
Group Executive for Product and Operations.
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Committing to China
One way Westpac plans to grow is through an expanded presence in Asia.
In January 2008, the firm opened its first full-service overseas office in 15
years, in Shanghai, signifying the importance of the Chinese market. The
opening came after the China Banking Regulatory Commission approved
Westpac’s application for a financial license. The Shanghai office will cater
to small- to medium-sized business through services such as import and
export settlement. The office, which has a full-time staff of 15, is led by
Andrew Whitford, country head of China operations.
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Westpac
GETTING HIRED
careers has a wealth of information about what it’s like to be a part of the
Westpac team, and what it takes to get there. Westpac also has a site dedicated
to graduate recruitment at www.westpac.com.au/graduates.
Westpac has two types of programs for graduates. The generalist program
gives participants a taste of several business areas. At the end of the
program, graduates decide where they’d like to focus their careers.
Generalist programs are available in business and consumer banking, and
enterprise business services, as well as with Westpac Asia or Westpac
Institutional Bank. The specialist program allows graduates to focus on a
chosen field, sampling different departments during the time of placement.
Specialist programs are available in accounting, agribusiness, eBusiness,
financial markets, information technology, legal, operations, human
resources, pricing and analytics, and risk.
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About the Editors
330
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