Credit Suisse scooped up a team of specialists off a Hong Kong broker. The move is part of the Swiss bank's push with China's wealthy and with corporate clients.
The Zurich-based bank is hiring a David Murphy, head of a data-driven analysis team at Asian brokerage CLSA, it said in a statement on Friday. Murphy joins the Swiss bank along with a team of roughly 12 people.
The move combines the team under Murphy, a China veteran, with Credit Suisse's data library, dubbed HOLT. The aim is to bring ultra-wealthy, institutional, and corporate clients a more comprehensive view of emerging trends in China.
«The formation of CQi is part of our ongoing efforts to expand our China onshore presence and capabilities,» Credit Suisse’s China CEO Zhenyi Tang said. The newly-formed team will work closely with the Swiss bank's securities joint venture in the country.
Seeking Bigger Stakes
Credit Suisse is hoping for the nod to lift its share to 51 percent, from one-third currently. UBS in October nudged itself up to a majority stake – the first foreign firm to do so in the fast-growing China market. The hires are effective immediately, and Murphy will report to Neil Hosie, who is Credit Suisse's head of equities in the wider region.
Murphy's deputy, Haixu Qiu, is also joining Credit Suisse, as well as consumer goods veteran Lei Chen. An undisclosed number of further staff covering consumer finance, metals, machinery, clean energy, new energy vehicles, real estate, banking, and macroeconomics on China will also join the Swiss bank in Beijing.
