Reiko Hayashi, head of Japan global capital markets for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is on our list for her work on market-defining transactions in Japan’s debt markets.
Hayashi was heavily involved in bringing to market debt financing for the $16 billion Suntory acquisition of US distiller Beam. The acquisition was the third-largest cross-border purchase by a Japanese company and symbolic of Japan Inc. expanding overseas in search of growth.
Hayashi also worked on Development Bank of Japan’s landmark €250 million green bond, the first by a Japanese firm, and is promoting this socially responsible asset class to other Japanese corporates.
Her deal-making skills have led to promotion through the ranks at BofA Merrill. In 2014 she was named Japan head of global capital markets.
Before that Hayashi was made head of Japan debt capital markets in 2011 and head of Japan Public Sector Origination in 2006, having previously overseen corporate and public finance within debt capital markets and risen from the trading floor over the course of a 25-year career in banking.
Hayashi is a member of BofA Merrill’s diversity and inclusion council aimed at encouraging talented women to go for promotion.
She is an advocate of flexible working hours for women in banking. That is reflected in her team, which includes several mothers who enjoy flexible work hours.
FinanceAsia’s 2015 honour roll of the most influential women across the Asia Pacific region spans investment and commercial bankers.
Published as a feature in the July / August 2015 print edition of FinanceAsia, the series also presents leading women in new areas of finance such as fintech where Asian companies are among the fastest-growing in the world.
We also canvassed corporate financiers for exceptional women working in deal advisory including lawyers and accountants. In the process of researching the series, we found evidence of progress in creating more diverse workplaces in the region.
