Barclays is winning Asia banking business
LONDON: Barclays Plc says it’s gaining market share in Asia from some US rivals after it hired almost a dozen senior sales and trading employees in the past year to accelerate the buildout of various business lines.

The additions include six directors for its macro unit trading currencies and rates, who were hired from rivals, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citigroup Inc.

The British bank also added two managing directors for its equity derivatives, private credit and distressed debt operations, Barclays head of markets for Asia-Pacific Hossein Zaimi said in an interview from Hong Kong.

The new hires contributed to a 2.5% boost in revenue last year for the Asia global markets business, while the macro and equities units jumped 4%, a source said.

That compares with an 18% decline for the markets business globally, according to a public filing.

“Most Asian clients want to deal more with non-US banks because of their desire for diversification,” Zaimi said.

“At the same time, they also need someone that is as good as US banks.”

The firm is on a growth trajectory in Asia, with market revenue hitting a record in 2023 for the third consecutive year, the person said.

Barclays’ Asia business as a percentage of its total markets operation is now on par with bigger Wall Street rivals, Zaimi said, without providing numbers.

Barclays sees itself as Europe’s last-remaining global investment bank and has pledged to use that unique position to boost its return on tangible equity to 10% this year and to 12% by 2026. That metric stood at 12.3% for the first quarter.

Barclays is also benefiting from the flow of Japanese money into the United States to invest in treasury bills, interest rate swaps, mortgage-backed securities and equities.

Strong appetite is also coming from US clients into Asia, particularly India, Japan and Australia, where the bank has a strong presence, he said.

Even as the bank expands in Asia, it’s planning job cuts that will involve several hundred employees in global markets, research and investment banking, the sources said in March.

Heightened geopolitical tensions may lead to a higher risk of US regulatory changes and sanctions that will affect global banks abroad and increase counter-party risk.

The more stringent capital rules in the US may also prompt clients to diversify their banking relationships with non-US banks since some lenders aren’t able to provide as much financial support as they used to, he said.

Zaimi, who will complete his second year at the firm this month, has beefed up macro sales and trading capabilities in emerging markets.

The bank is in the process of hiring two more senior traders after poaching Madhusudan Aggarwal from Goldman Sachs in February to help its foreign exchange business for Asia markets outside Greater China.

The bank has also identified private credit as a growth area and hired Abhay-Kumar Sinha from Deutsche Bank AG to lead the business.

Private credit investors in Asia are deploying 90% of their money in India, an increasingly attractive destination for manufacturing and investment, and Australia, given its established legal framework and broader range of investment opportunities, Zaimi said.

Barclays aims to keep boosting revenue from its prime financing business in the next three years and will continue building out equity derivatives after hiring Jean-Baptiste Patois in November. — Bloomberg
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Barclays Plc says it’s gaining market share in Asia from some US rivals after it hired almost a dozen senior sales and trading employees in the past year to accelerate the buildout of various business lines.