Moves afoot at ING Financial Markets Asia

Jun 17, 2002

Exit Nick Coutanche, enter Tim Fallowfield, Percy Rueber and Eh Wan Hahm.

ING Groep continues to expand its Financial Markets operations in Asia with the creation of a new position, head of Financial Markets Singapore. Percy Rueber, formerly Asian general manager of Germany's BHF Bank is to assume the role from the beginning of July, reporting to Leo Janssen, ING's head of Financial Markets Asia.

Janssen came to ING nearly five-years ago with a remit to build out a Financial Markets business that would complement Baring's strong equities and corporate advisory franchise. Since then, he has established three hubs in Tokyo (investment grade business and derivatives), Hong Kong (emerging markets business and debt origination and trading) and Singapore (treasury markets, asset and liability management, G7 currencies).

Having established a viable platform, ING is now moving into a second phase where it makes selective hires to complement existing business. Rueber also comes to the group after eight years at ING acquisition BHF, which alongside Belgium's BBL Bank, has recently been integrated into the wider group.

In Hong Kong, however, ING has lost the talents of one of its most well-respected bankers, Nick Coutanche, who is leaving the bank for personal reasons and has decided to return to Europe, travel and buy a house in France. Coutanche has been at ING for four-and-a-half years and was personally hand-picked by Janssen as a key prop trader before being promoted to head of sales and trading for FX, money markets and derivatives.

In his place, ING has installed Tim Fallowfield, who was previously head of FX specialising in emerging markets currencies. He will continue to be based in Hong Kong, reporting to Janssen.

ING's recent star hire, Rod Sykes, has also begun to expand the bank's debt origination team with the appointment of Eh Wan Hahm as a vice president in debt capital markets. Hahm, who is a Korean specialist was previously at Lehman Brothers for two years. DCM head Sykes joined earlier this spring, having spent the previous eight years of his career at Morgan Stanley.