Rankin leaves UBS after 18 years

Barely a week after UBS announced that it will appoint a new chairman at its annual general meeting in April and less than a month after its CEO announced his intention to step down, the Swiss firm has announced a series of senior level changes at its investment bank in Asia.

The changes were sparked by the surprise resignation of Robert Rankin as head of investment banking for Asia-Pacific earlier this week. While UBS has struggled at a global level over the past year, Rankin has built the firm into one of the top investment banks in Asia since he became co-head of investment banking in the region in 2003 and he is likely to be missed not only internally, but by competitors in the industry as well.

According to a UBS spokesman, Rankin is leaving to spend more time with his family and is parting with the bank on good terms. In a note sent to his clients, Rankin did say that it is time for a new challenge, however, which suggests that he will show up somewhere else in due course.

He will be succeeded by David Chin and Matthew Hanning, who will become joint heads of investment banking for Asia. Both are based in Hong Kong and have extensive experience in M&A banking with Chin having led UBS's financial institutions group, and Hanning having headed up mergers & acquisitions and corporate finance since he joined from Morgan Stanley in 2006.

UBS has also appointed Henry Cai to a new role as chairman of investment banking for Asia, a job that he will take on in addition to his current role as head of investment banking for China. Cai is currently also chairman of China and vice-chairman for Asia within the investment banking division. His new job will essentially make him the most senior coverage banker in the region and the fact that UBS is promoting someone with extensive experience in China to this role is testament to the weight it puts on its China business. Cai will also play a greater role in the general management of the investment banking business across Asia.

Zhao Ju will succeed Cai as chairman of China investment banking and will take charge of the domestic China investment banking business.

Initially an M&A lawyer, Rankin joined UBS in Australia in 1990 and moved to Hong Kong in 2000 to head up the investment banking team focused on telecoms, media and technology. He became co-head of Asia investment banking in 2003 and sole head of the same division in 2004, when his fellow co-head Peter Burnett moved on. In January this year, his investment banking coverage widened from head of Asia to head of Asia-Pacific as Australia was also included under his leadership.