Credit Suisse’s Lim Zi-Kuan joins Deutsche Bank as rivals grab Swiss lender’s top talent
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Mr Lim Zi-Kuan will become the German bank’s co-head of M&A for Asia.
PHOTO: LINKEDIN
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SINGAPORE - Deutsche Bank has hired Credit Suisse Group’s head of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for South-east Asia, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as rival banks pounce on top talent from the embattled Swiss lender.
Mr Lim Zi-Kuan will become the German bank’s co-head of M&A for Asia, the sources said. He resigned from Credit Suisse recently and is expected to join Deutsche Bank in the next few months, one of the sources said.
Spokesmen for both lenders declined to comment.
The first emergency sale of a major bank since the financial crisis is presenting rivals with the chance to scoop up key personnel or businesses that might otherwise not have been on offer.
Deutsche Bank also hired five Credit Suisse bankers focused on Latin America, according to sources cited in a separate report on Wednesday.
Mr Javier Vargas, head of Latin America investment banking and capital markets, and Mr Nicolas Camacho, Mr Manuel Gonzalez Spahr, Mr Juan Pedro Hernandez Olano and Mr Jaime Stiglich are joining Deutsche Bank as managing directors based in New York, said the sources.
Mr Lim, a Singapore-based managing director, has been at Credit Suisse for more than 20 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also heads M&A for frontier markets.
The Swiss bank is grappling with the fallout from its emergency rescue by UBS Group.
In South-east Asia, where Credit Suisse is among major deal advisers, it is on seven pending deals worth about US$3 billion (S$4 billion) that were announced in the last 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. These transactions include Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s purchase of an additional stake in the Philippines-based Rizal Commercial Banking. BLOOMBERG
