Guy Wylie, previously managing director and head of primary markets for Asia Pacific at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has joined Telstra as its corporate treasurer, a spokesman for the Australian telco said.
Wylie, an Australian national, joined RBS in January after leaving UBS in June last year from his position as the Swiss bank's head of debt capital markets for Asia. Before UBS he also worked at RBS’s loan team in London.
Wylie, who has 20 years of experience in banking and corporate restructuring, joins a long line of investment bankers who have sought out greener pastures in the corporate world since the global financial crisis.
Investment banks have struggled to maintain profitability levels in Asia as the pool of potential revenues has been eroded. As a result, most banks have shrunk their investment banking teams and now run leaner ships. In addition, total compensation packages have been falling.
"We've seen more bankers -- both senior and junior - moving over to join companies," said a senior banker. "The reason is two-fold -- there has been a net reduction in headcount while compensation packages have changed quite drastically," the banker said.
High profile moves from the banking sector to the corporate world include former Goldman Sachs partner Yusuf Alireza, who joined Hong Kong’s Noble Group as its chief executive early last year.
