Slimmer UBS targets Asian growth
Bank's plan to lay off 10,000 staff will have minimal impact in this region, and it plans to help bring more Chinese companies to market
Swiss-based investment bank UBS is keen to bring more big Asian clients back to the capital markets next year despite a recent announcement that it will cut 10,000 jobs to save costs.
David Chin, head of the group's Asia investment banking business, said the internal restructuring and lay-off plan would have only a "minimal impact" in the Asia-Pacific region, and he expected to help some big Chinese clients launch stock or bond sales next year.
Some of the economic and political uncertainties affecting investor sentiment - for example the once-in-a-decade power transition on the mainland - would be resolved or diminish in months, and this would help boost investor confidence in capital markets, Chin told the South China Morning Post in an exclusive interview.
"We are optimistic about our investment banking model in Asia which ties in closely with our wealth management business that provides important sources of distribution and referrals," Chin said. He is a long-time investment banker who has helped a number of mainland lenders go public in Hong Kong, including Bank of China and Minsheng Bank.
Last week UBS announced it would wind down its fixed-income business and cut 10,000 banking posts in one of the biggest bonfires of finance jobs since the implosion of Lehman Brothers during the financial crisis in 2008.
It is believed that the fixed income and distressed asset business in Europe and the United States will be the hardest hit.