(March 10): Senior bankers in Asia are leaving for competitors at an intensifying pace as the job market heats up again on rising deal flow, people 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 AG veteran and Asian head of real estate, lodging and leisure, who resigned last week to join Citigroup Inc. Thana will fill the vacancy left by Jonathan Quek, who departed for Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
The talent shift also comes as emerging competitors like Jefferies expand their footprint, capitalising on a recovery fuelled by the technology, industrial, and biotech sectors.
Others include Min Zhao, a managing director at Bank of America Corp, who is moving to Jefferies. Citi banker Aaron Zhang left for Morgan Stanley, while Warren Wu, the head of TMT for Southeast Asia and India at UBS, has also stepped down. Karen Chen, JPMorgan Chase & Co’s China head of consumer and retail, recently resigned to join a rival.
Representatives of UBS, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan all declined to comment and the individuals involved declined to comment or didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments.
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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.
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 people said.
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JPMorgan hired about a dozen senior investment bankers for Asia in the past six months, a person familiar with the matter said.
Since August, Citigroup has been adding key talent for its investment banking business in Asia, including Kaustubh Kulkarni as a co-head of investment banking, Deepak Dangayach as a co-head of debt capital markets from Deutsche Bank AG, and Vikram Chavali from Goldman Sachs Group Inc as the head of financial sponsors for the region.
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