Investment Banking

China shows U.S. banks self-serving generosity

7 Feb 2017

JPMorgan and Citi have won coveted licences in China's onshore bond market. China's real goal might be to get inclusion in global bond indexes, which would bring stable foreign investment. But restrictions on capital flows make such bonds less appetizing than they could be.

China’s traders at sharp end of bonus season

2 Feb 2017

A big drop in stock-market volumes after 2015's crash means many brokerage staff are braced for big bonus cuts. Off the trading floor, life looks a lot better, with share sales and overseas deals breaking records. But the M&A boom is already losing steam, too.

Luck, and design, help Nomura near foreign goal

1 Feb 2017

The Japanese bank is nearing an important milestone: its first annual pre-tax profit overseas since buying bits of Lehman Brothers. The success is due partly to choppy bond and forex markets. Nomura's own cost cutting also helped – and puts it on a sounder long-term footing.

Banks whiplashed by Asia’s distrust of hot money

9 Jan 2017

Indonesia plans new rules to ensure research is "factual", after a downgrade led it to cut ties with JPMorgan. Malaysia is clamping down on currency trading. The moves only highlight Southeast Asia’s vulnerability to capital flight rather than the region's impressive growth.

Sinopec gears up for another round of expansion

16 Dec 2016

China's $100 bln energy titan is selling assets to bolster its balance sheet and replace reserves as oilfields generating over half its economic profit age. The state group blew $45 bln in its last spending spree before oil prices cratered. Perhaps it has learned its lesson.

Goldman adds a splash of color to executive ranks

14 Dec 2016

Two bald white male vets will replace Gary Cohn, the bald white president who won't replace Lloyd Blankfein, the bald white chairman and CEO of the bank. So the appointment of Martin Chavez as CFO stands out in many ways – jokes aside, mainly for his entrepreneurial background.

Confusion is already taking a toll on Chinese M&A

13 Dec 2016

China has floated plans to make it harder to move money abroad, and to stop leftfield takeovers, but has not announced any concrete rules. Never mind: uncertainty is always a deal killer. Sellers are already wary, and will demand larger premiums and upfront payments.

JPMorgan payout would put princelings in context

17 Nov 2016

The bank is close to reaching a $250 mln-plus settlement with U.S. authorities over hiring the relatives of Chinese officials. That's relatively small compared to other recent banking fines, suggesting the case wasn't clear-cut. It offers hope for others still under scrutiny.

Hong Kong zombie stocks lurch toward IPO bankers

2 Nov 2016

China Forestry, listed in 2009 and suspended from trading two years later, has caught up with co-sponsors Standard Chartered and UBS. Both banks just revealed probes by the Hong Kong regulator. If that's the pace of justice, there are dozens more undead firms that could lash out.

UBS probe neatly captures Hong Kong market dilemma

31 Oct 2016

Regulators are looking into UBS's role in local IPOs. Whatever the outcome, it epitomises a clash between lofty governance goals and too many banks chasing sometimes questionable listing candidates. Long-term, global institutions would gain from taking the high road.

Tobacco deal keeps Deutsche’s U.S. ambitions warm

21 Oct 2016

The German lender is advising BAT on its $47 bln bid for the bit of Reynolds American it doesn't own. With around $18 bln in debt needed, Deutsche Bank could play a big part. Mergers like this are one reason transatlantic investment banking is a tough habit to kick.

JPMorgan stages tactical retreat in China

21 Oct 2016

The U.S. bank could sell out of its minority position in a mainland securities joint venture. Many Western investment banks are stuck in these suboptimal JVs. However, the long-term promise of China's capital markets is huge. This may just be the prelude to finding a new partner.

Asia’s buyout barons hail “control” era too soon

10 Oct 2016

Minority stake purchases still outweigh full-blown takeovers by private equity firms in Asia. A shift would help an industry flush with funds. But while recent data is encouraging, founders who want to sell and professionals who can run acquired firms are both in short supply.

Asian cull makes Goldman Sachs look rattled

26 Sep 2016

The Wall Street bank is laying off nearly a third of its Asian investment bankers. Lumpy deal flow, fierce competition and low fees are endemic in Asia, but Goldman's pullback suggests the scandal over Malaysia's 1MDB may have also dampened its appetite for risk.

Asian investment banking is a money pit

20 Sep 2016

Fees from underwriting and deals are up 8 pct this year after a poor start. But only a few big foreign houses are profitable. Fierce competition, global and regional, keeps fees down. Meanwhile, big-ticket Chinese business goes to Chinese firms. It creates the conditions for more banks to retreat.

Wells Fargo stoops to Wall Street’s level

8 Sep 2016

The U.S. lender led by John Stumpf has undertaken one of the biggest purges of bad bankers. It fired some 5,300 employees for opening 2 mln fake customer accounts that just led to $190 mln in fines. Failure of culture, incentives and accountability isn't limited to high finance.

Credit Suisse exit prolongs internal upheaval

7 Sep 2016

The Swiss bank has ditched trading head Tim O'Hara six months after boss Tidjane Thiam declared total confidence in him. His replacement oversaw big losses as head of Credit Suisse's securitised business. A plus may be that the struggling markets unit could now be pruned further.

China tech’s M&A upgrade should alarm global banks

18 Aug 2016

M&A advisers are missing out on juicy deals like the $35 bln Didi-Uber China tie-up and heavyweights are poaching bankers for in-house teams. That echoes trends across the region and in global tech. It's also fresh evidence of the difficulties of making money on the mainland.

Bank activists could try their luck in Europe too

16 Aug 2016

ValueAct's 2 percent stake in Morgan Stanley has parallels with Knight Vinke's 2013 cage-rattling at UBS. That example aside, European banks have mainly dodged investor activism due to the threat of ever-higher capital requirements. There are early signs this could be changing.

UK slaps capitalism in its “unacceptable” face

25 Jul 2016

Lawmakers angry at retailer BHS's collapse are mulling further regulation to protect jobs and pensions. The fiasco epitomises what Prime Minister Theresa May decries as "anything goes" business. It takes UK corporate life into interesting - and potentially painful - moral areas.