The race is on to secure top banking talent in China as international banks firms to take full ownership of their joint ventures on the mainland and bolster their presence by recruiting locals or luring top bankers from Hong Kong.
“China coverage remains at the forefront of hiring, a situation compounded by the relaxing of the onshore JV rules which has led to international banks competing aggressively for talent,’ says Simon Roberts, chairman for Asia at Sheffield Haworth. “The onshore market remains extremely robust both in terms of deal flow and the demand for talent.”
Credit Suisse has become the latest bank to seek 100% ownership of its Chinese joint venture as it looks to offer more investment banking products to the region’s entrepreneurs. “China will have the largest pool of wealth globally, no question about it, in the next couple of years,” Helman Sitohang, CEO of Credit Suisse for Asia Pacific told Bloomberg on February 19.