Peter Szekely, formerly of Standard Chartered, has joined ANZ as its new head of specialty funds for Asia, the bank confirmed on Wednesday.
In his new role at the Australian bank, which began on Monday, Szekely will cover specialty funds, including financial sponsors and sovereign wealth funds in various asset classes, and assist in co-ordinating product strategies and developing financing solutions, according to an internal memo seen by FinanceAsia.
Szekely, who left StanChart in August, will continue to be based in Hong Kong and now reports to Giles Borten, ANZ's global head of funds and insurance.
ANZ has been keen to expand its Asian business lines under chief executive officer Mike Smith, who is retiring at the end of the year. His replacement Shayne Elliott has said that he intends to keep ANZ's "super-regional" business strategy intact. The bank is particularly keen to grow its Chinese clientele, to take advantage of the business opportunities in the world's second-largest economy.
As reported by FinanceAsia, Szekely left StanChart on August 6, having joined the bank in 2011 to run its global high-yield product group before taking over as head of debt capital markets.
He previously worked at independent advisory firm StormHarbour. Before then, Szekely was a managing director on Morgan Stanley's leveraged finance team. He was hired in 2006 to set up and run the US investment bank’s leveraged loans business for Asia-Pacific, including Japan and Australia, focusing on leveraged buyouts and mezzanine and situational financing.
