Deutsche Bank AG hired Credit Suisse Group AG’s head of mergers and acquisitions for Southeast Asia, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as rival banks pounce on top talent from the embattled Swiss lender.
Lim Zi-Kuan will become the German bank’s co-head of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for Asia, the people said, asking not to be named as the matter is private. Lim resigned from Credit Suisse recently and is expected to join Deutsche Bank in the next few months, one of the people said.
Spokespeople for both lenders declined to comment.
The first emergency sale of a major bank since the financial crisis is presenting rivals the chance to scoop up key personnel or businesses that might otherwise not have been on offer. Deutsche Bank sees room to expand its deals business in Asia and is looking to hire selectively, the lender’s regional head of investment banking said in November.
Lim, a Singapore-based managing director, has been at Credit Suisse for more than 20 years and also heads M&A for frontier markets, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The Swiss bank is grappling with the fallout from its emergency rescue by UBS Group AG. The deal signed last month may cut the overall workforce by up to 30%, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday, citing an unidentified senior manager at UBS. Credit Suisse bankers meanwhile have been calling headhunters and rival firms to ask about job opportunities.
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In Southeast Asia, where Credit Suisse is among major deal advisers, it is on seven pending deals worth about US$3 billion ($3.98 billion) that were announced in the last 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. These transactions include Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s purchase of an additional stake in Philippines-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.
