ABN Amro is beefing up its investment banking team in Asia while most banks are scaling back as new deals sputter and fees from mergers and acquisitions dry up.
The Dutch bank has hired seven bankers and transferred four senior bankers to its financial institutions team in Asia.
It is part of a global effort to win mandates to advise central and commercial banks on restructuring efforts in developing markets, said Samuel Zavatti, the Hong Kong-based global head of the team.
Mark Stadler, previously in charge of ABN's Asia corporate finance financial institutions team, will run the expanded group, which now includes 20 bankers in Asia and about 10 more in other regions, including Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Mr Zavatti said there were signs of increased demand for capital raising, including both debt and equity, among Asian financial institutions.
'During this down cycle of difficult economic conditions, our pipeline of business is the largest it's ever been,' he said.
