WestLB beefs up its presence in Hong Kong
Germany's WestLB - which describes itself as a "speedboat not a supertanker" - adds three senior executives to its Asia-Pacific management team.
Germany's WestLB announced on Thursday (May 18) the addition of three senior executives to its Asia-Pacific management team to further strengthen the bank's operations in the region.
Since transforming from a state-owned entity to a private enterprise after the abolition of state guarantees in Germany, WestLB has been restructuring its Asia businesses and growing them.
"The Asia Pacific region is a very important part of WestLB's global footprint," says Robert Stein, a member of the managing board of WestLB. "We are currently expanding our sales, trading and origination platform across Asia Pacific and we look forward to growing our business in Asia."
As part of the strategy, Neil Colverd is taking on the role of regional CEO in Asia Pacific, responsible for public finance issuance. Also joining the management team in Hong Kong are Hui Wen Shiau and Bodo H÷rnemann.
Colverd has held various senior positions at WestLB since 2001, including chairman for WestLB Ireland and WestLB Covered Bond bank. He also served as the branch manager and managing director of WestLB Securities Pacific Tokyo, where he worked as Asia-Pacific regional head of global derivatives and fixed income trading and sales, while acting as the member of Asia-Pacific Regional Management Board.
Prior to joining WestLB Securities Pacific, Colverd was at Nippon Credit Bank Grand Cayman from 1995 to 1997 as chief trader. Before that, he worked for Merrill Lynch in London and Tokyo as director from 1991 to 1995, responsible for government bond trading, credit, option and all yen products including new issues.
Shiau joins the team as the general manager in Hong Kong, managing director and head of sales and structuring for Asia Pacific. He will also be a member of the exectuive committee of WestLB's APAC Board. Shiau has more than 20 years of fixed income experience in sales, structuring and trading. Prior to joining WestLB, he was a director in fixed income and derivaties sales in Credit Suisse Hong Kong.
H÷rnemann joins the team as general manager in Hong Kong to lead the bank's back-office operations, while acting as the regional chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Asia Pacific. He has more than 20 years of experience in WestLB and over the years has worked in Dnsseldorf, New York, Brazil and Hong Kong.
The bank also announced on Thursday that it has transferred its regional back office operations from Germany to Hong Kong, warranting a move into the ICBC building in Central for more space. Currently, the bank employs 69 people in Hong Kong, though Stein said there are plans to increase that number - he wouldn't be pinned down on an exact figure.
At the same time, he took pains to note that the bank isn't trying to take on the megabanks. "WestLB is a speedboat instead of a supertanker. We punch above our weight in very specific areas," says Stein, noting that the bank primarily focuses on structure finance in infrastructure projects and large assets such as telecoms and mining/commodities.
"We are not a boutique, or if we are, we're a boutique with a balance sheet," says Stein.
In the first quarter of 2006, the bank's profit before taxes was Ç168.1 million based on a mark-to-market valuation of the trading portfolios. This represented an increase of Ç4.9 million on last year's figures for the same period.
Since transforming from a state-owned entity to a private enterprise after the abolition of state guarantees in Germany, WestLB has been restructuring its Asia businesses and growing them.
"The Asia Pacific region is a very important part of WestLB's global footprint," says Robert Stein, a member of the managing board of WestLB. "We are currently expanding our sales, trading and origination platform across Asia Pacific and we look forward to growing our business in Asia."
As part of the strategy, Neil Colverd is taking on the role of regional CEO in Asia Pacific, responsible for public finance issuance. Also joining the management team in Hong Kong are Hui Wen Shiau and Bodo H÷rnemann.
Colverd has held various senior positions at WestLB since 2001, including chairman for WestLB Ireland and WestLB Covered Bond bank. He also served as the branch manager and managing director of WestLB Securities Pacific Tokyo, where he worked as Asia-Pacific regional head of global derivatives and fixed income trading and sales, while acting as the member of Asia-Pacific Regional Management Board.
Prior to joining WestLB Securities Pacific, Colverd was at Nippon Credit Bank Grand Cayman from 1995 to 1997 as chief trader. Before that, he worked for Merrill Lynch in London and Tokyo as director from 1991 to 1995, responsible for government bond trading, credit, option and all yen products including new issues.
Shiau joins the team as the general manager in Hong Kong, managing director and head of sales and structuring for Asia Pacific. He will also be a member of the exectuive committee of WestLB's APAC Board. Shiau has more than 20 years of fixed income experience in sales, structuring and trading. Prior to joining WestLB, he was a director in fixed income and derivaties sales in Credit Suisse Hong Kong.
H÷rnemann joins the team as general manager in Hong Kong to lead the bank's back-office operations, while acting as the regional chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Asia Pacific. He has more than 20 years of experience in WestLB and over the years has worked in Dnsseldorf, New York, Brazil and Hong Kong.
The bank also announced on Thursday that it has transferred its regional back office operations from Germany to Hong Kong, warranting a move into the ICBC building in Central for more space. Currently, the bank employs 69 people in Hong Kong, though Stein said there are plans to increase that number - he wouldn't be pinned down on an exact figure.
At the same time, he took pains to note that the bank isn't trying to take on the megabanks. "WestLB is a speedboat instead of a supertanker. We punch above our weight in very specific areas," says Stein, noting that the bank primarily focuses on structure finance in infrastructure projects and large assets such as telecoms and mining/commodities.
"We are not a boutique, or if we are, we're a boutique with a balance sheet," says Stein.
In the first quarter of 2006, the bank's profit before taxes was Ç168.1 million based on a mark-to-market valuation of the trading portfolios. This represented an increase of Ç4.9 million on last year's figures for the same period.
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