A Swiss bank is bolstering its investment banking arm in Asia by poaching a high-profile banker from a hometown rival.
Last year, Vontobel's investment banking head detailed the Swiss bank's push into issuing derivatives in Hong Kong in a finews.asia interview. On Tuesday, the Zurich-based bank said that it has poached rival Leonteq's Hong Kong boss, Long Lee, to do so.
For Vontobel, poaching Lee to handle its sales in Singapore and trading from Hong Kong is a way to reach its ambitions of becoming a leading structured products issuer in Asia. «This key appointment represents a further investment in the Asia region and reaffirms our growth strategy,» the bank's wider investment bank head Roger Studer said in a statement.
Profitable Asian Push
Lee will take over at Vontobel's financial products arm on Monday, which means he will be responsible for structured products issuance in Hong Kong Kong and Singapore. Trained as an economist and statistician, Lee joined Leonteq, a Zurich-based fintech firm, eight years ago following stints as a trader with Bank of China and BBVA.
Currently, Vontobel has teams in Hong Kong and Singapore, and employs roughly 20 people. Studer said issuance in Hong Kong is already profitable for Vontobel, and that it plans to expand from stock and bond-based instruments into commodities, foreign currencies and others.
For Leonteq, where he was promoted to Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2014, the departure is a setback in its efforts to bolster Asia, which CEO Marco Amato detailed to finews.asia last month.
