Morning Coffee: Credit Suisse needs more bankers; Chinese brokerages need more quants

In Asian private banking, it seems that announcing (and reaffirming) your headcount expansion plans on a regular basis is a key way to attract talent. “This is a competitive industry and if you’re not seen to be growing it may affect your ability to retain and attract the best people,” says a private banking headhunter in Singapore.

There have been two such announcements in recent days. Francesco de Ferrari, head of private banking at Credit Suisse, has told Finance Asia that his firm is still expanding in Asia, reaffirming remarks made in March by Francois Monnet, chief operating officer, private banking Asia Pacific at CS. “Our business is very people driven so absolutely, we are looking to hire,” de Ferrari said. Yesterday we also noted China Merchants Bank’s plans to recruit private bankers in Hong Kong and Singapore. “Public announcements like this seem to be part of the hiring process these days,” says the headhunter.

Separately, Reuters reports that mainland China-based brokerages and fund managers are hiring more “mathematics whizzes” (read, quants) and buying more trading-floor IT hardware. The extra investment comes as the rapid liberalisation of Chinese derivatives markets has “attracted a new breed of creative traders employing complex trading strategies that can generate quick profits”. Quants and extra computer power are helping to support the kind of derivative sophisticated trading strategies that have made “quick-trading ‘flash boys’ notorious in the United States and Europe,” reports Reuters.

Meanwhile:

Standard Chartered still needs to cut retail banking across Asia and private banking in China, say analysts. (Wall Street Journal)

Former BAML banker Loh Boon Chye appointed new CEO of SGX. (Bloomberg)

UBS increases its stake in Chinese joint venture and reshuffles leadership. (Wall Street Journal)

HSBC takes new step towards deciding whether to move its headquarters to Asia. (Telegraph)

Indonesia’s Bank Windu says China Construction Bank may acquire it. (Straits Times)

Are you smarter than a Hong Kong six-year-old? (Guardian)

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