Credit Suisse hires BofA Merrill’s Michael Tan

Credit Suisse has hired Michael Tan from Bank of America Merrill Lynch to head its financial institutions group (FIG) in the Asia Pacific region, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tan held the same title at BofA Merrill. Under Tan’s leadership, the US  bank recently advised on some landmark transactions in the region’s financial sector, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s $5.73 billion bid for a 75% stake in Bank of Ayudhya, Thailand fifth-largest bank by commercial assets.

BofA Merrill also advised the seller on MS&AD Insurance Group’s purchase of a 50% stake in the life insurance unit of Indonesia’s Sinar Mas for Y67 billion, at a price to book ratio of 4.7 times, as well as Sun Life Financial on the Canadian insurer’s purchase of a Malaysian life insurer. 

Tan will join Credit Suisse in December and will be based in Hong Kong. He started his banking career at Credit Suisse First Boston in New Zealand and stayed with the Swiss bank until 2004, at which point he joined BofA Merrill.

Credit Suisse’s investment banking department is run by Vikram Malhotra. Senior bankers in Credit Suisse’s financial institutions group include Simon Yuan, who is a managing director and will remain as the head of the China financials team, as well as Danny Chung, a director who focuses on insurance companies across Asia as well as financial institutions in Korea.

Previously, Nicolo Salsano was the regional co-head of Credit Suisse’s financial institutions group for two years. Salsano was recently promoted to head the Swiss bank’s German and Austrian investment banking department, and moved to Frankfurt.

Credit Suisse has advised on some of the largest corporate finance deals in the region involving financial institutions, including Citic Securities’ $1.3 billion acquisition of Asian broker CLSA, China Taiping’s $800 million restructuring in 2013 and worked PICC’s  $3.56 billion IPO last year.

Credit Suisse declined to comment on Tan’s move.