Sunday, 22nd November 2009

 

16 May 2008 - Press Briefing

Merrill to bolster wealth management presence in Asia

Merrill Lynch, the world's third-largest manager of money for the rich, plans to expand its private banking business in Asia and hire hundreds of people, according to a Bloomberg report.

“Our eyes are looking to grow in Asia, not to shrink,' Jason Brand, president of Merrill Lynch Pacific Rim, said in an interview in Singapore on Thursday. “Wealth management is one area we've identified for growth.'

Merrill Lynch, based in New York, opened a wealth management office in India in August. The investment bank also plans to expand its corporate finance and sales and trading divisions in Asia, Brand said.

The securities firm and rivals including Morgan Stanley are increasing hiring in Asia to tap the region's rising affluence as incomes climb. The wealth of high net worth individuals in the Asia-Pacific region may gain 8.5% a year to $12.7 trillion (€8.2 trillion) by 2011, the second-fastest climb after the Middle East, Merrill Lynch and Capgemini said in a 2007 report.

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Brummel

Relocation, relocation, relocation

Banks have never been shy of firing staff at the merest whiff of a downturn. First the fat, then the muscle and finally the bone. In the past, cuts have been so deep that firms have found it hard to benefit when the markets rebounded, paying over the odds to restaff at speed. Such wild oscillations in staffing numbers are known as “doing a Merrill”.

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