Jefferies Is Hiring About 20 Credit Suisse Bankers in Asia

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is hiring about 20 investment bankers from Credit Suisse Group AG as the US advisory firm seeks to strengthen its foothold in Asia, according to people familiar with the matter.

(Bloomberg) — Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is hiring about 20 investment bankers from Credit Suisse Group AG as the US advisory firm seeks to strengthen its foothold in Asia, according to people familiar with the matter.

The bulk of the hires are in Southeast Asia and comprise mostly junior staff, said the people, asking not to named as the information is private. Jefferies also plans to appoint Rehan Anwer, who was Southeast Asia investment banking and capital markets head at Credit Suisse, as co-head of Asia investment banking alongside Christopher Laskowski, said the people.

Jefferies, based in New York, has in recent years been trying to increase its presence in Asia Pacific, seeking to emulate its stronger position as an advisory firm in other markets such as the US and Europe. It has pounced on hiring opportunities thrown up by the turmoil around Credit Suisse’s takeover by bigger Swiss rival UBS Group AG, that has led to a slew of departures.

A Jefferies spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Profit at Jefferies plunged in its fiscal first quarter, with performance driven down by the slump in investment banking that has similarly afflicted its Wall Street peers. Still, Chief Executive Officer Richard Handler sees pent-up demand for mergers and acquisitions, saying interest rates will determine whether deals return.

The firm ranked among the top 15 M&A advisors in the US and Europe over the past year, while it lags behind in Asia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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