Credit Suisse’s Singapore-based Asean M&A head to exit bank

CREDIT Suisse Group’s head of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for South-east Asia is leaving, according to people with knowledge of the matter, adding uncertainty in a region where the bank is among major deal advisers.

Lim Zi-Kuan, a Singapore-based veteran of more than 20 years at the Swiss bank, resigned recently, the people said, asking not to be named as the matter is private. Lim, a managing director, also heads M&A for frontier markets, according to his LinkedIn profile.

A spokesperson for Credit Suisse declined to comment.

His departure comes as the embattled lender grapples with retaining talent following its emergency rescue by UBS Group. The deal signed last month may cut the overall workforce by up to 30 per cent, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday (Apr 2), citing an unidentified senior manager at UBS. Credit Suisse bankers meanwhile have been calling headhunters and rival firms to ask about job opportunities.

In South-east Asia, Credit Suisse is on seven pending deals worth about US$3 billion that were announced in the last 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. These transactions include Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s purchase of an additional stake in Philippines-based Rizal Commercial Banking. BLOOMBERG