Senior bankers quit for rivals as Asia talent fight intensifies

[HONG KONG] Senior bankers in Asia are leaving for competitors at an intensifying pace as the job market heats up again on rising deal flow, sources familiar with the matter said.

While post-bonus job moves are common in banking, a resurgence in Asia-Pacific deals is sparking a fresh wave of poaching among the world’s largest investment banks. Departures and hiring had slowed in recent years as geopolitical tensions and weaker growth in major economies cooled opportunities.

The shifts have hit across key coverage groups, from real estate to equity capital markets. Among them is Indran Thana, a 15-year UBS Group veteran and Asia head of real estate, lodging, and leisure, who resigned last week to join Citigroup. Thana will fill the vacancy left by Jonathan Quek, who departed for Jefferies Financial Group.

The talent shift also comes as emerging competitors such as Jefferies expand their footprint, capitalising on a recovery fuelled by the technology, industrial, and biotech sectors.

Talent poaching

Others include Min Zhao, a managing director at Bank of America, who is moving to Jefferies. Citi banker Aaron Zhang left for Morgan Stanley, while Warren Wu, head of TMT for South-east Asia and India at UBS, has also stepped down. Karen Chen, JPMorgan Chase’s China head of consumer and retail, recently resigned to join a rival.

Representatives for UBS, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan all declined to comment and the individuals involved declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

UBS is also losing Fergus Horrobin, a dealmaker recently based in Hong Kong, who is joining JPMorgan to run its international real estate investment banking business from London.

For Zurich-based UBS, the turnover follows a period of intense organisational change. The lender has been fine-tuning its headcount after absorbing a significant influx of staff from its Credit Suisse acquisition.

Unlike many Wall Street peers who implemented sweeping job cuts over the last two years, UBS largely maintained its headcount in Asia. The bank is actively managing its roster, which includes pushing out average performers while losing top-tier talent to more aggressive bidders, the sources said.

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JPMorgan hired about a dozen senior investment bankers for Asia in the past six months, a source familiar with the matter said.

Since August, Citigroup has been adding key talent for its investment banking business in Asia, including Kaustubh Kulkarni as co-head of investment banking, Deepak Dangayach as co-head of debt capital markets from Deutsche Bank, and Vikram Chavali from Goldman Sachs as head of financial sponsors for the region. BLOOMBERG