Sharhan Muhseen has joined Credit Suisse to head coverage of financial institutions across Southeast Asia, the Swiss bank said on Tuesday.
Muhseen will continue to be based in Singapore and reports to Michael Tan, head of Credit Suisse’s financial institutions group (FIG) coverage across the Asia Pacific region.
The move reunites Muhseen with Tan who moved across from Bank of America Merrill Lynch last year.
Tan was also head of FIG Asia Pacific at BofA ML, while Muhseen was head of FIG for Southeast Asia and head of coverage for Sri Lanka at the US bank and based in Singapore.
At Credit Suisse Muhseen is responsible for deal-sourcing and origination across the Southeast Asia region.
Mushseen's move comes as financial institutions grow as a source of revenue for regional bankers with local banks paying for advice on mergers and acquisitions as they look to expand beyond their home market or seeking help to raise capital that is compliant with new global regulations.
Investment banking revenues from advising financial institutions across the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, was $824 million in the first half of 2014 and as a sector was the second-biggest fee generator behind industrials, according to data provider Dealogic. “There continues to be significant strategic activity across Southeast Asia, and Sharhan brings with him a track record of landmark cross border deals that will contribute to an already strong M&A franchise,” Tan said in a statement.
Rain maker
Before joining BofA ML in 2007, Muhseen was an associate director in the regional corporate finance team at Deloitte & Touche.
His recent transactions include advising Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation on its acquisition of Hong Kong's Wing Hang Bank and advising Malaysia's Khazanah on its acquisition of a stake in Turkish health insurer Acibadem Sigorta.
So far this year Credit Suisse has been a bookrunner on the Government of Pakistan's $388 million placement of shares in United Bank, a $1.1 billion block trade for Malaysia’s CIMB and on Philippine National Bank's $266 million rights offering.
In debt capital markets, Credit Suisse acted as a joint bookrunner on the $800 million 10.5 non-call 5.5 year Tier 2 subordinated notes for United Overseas Bank in Singapore in March, which at the time was the first-ever US dollar Basel III compliant Tier 2 instrument issued by a Southeast Asian.
In M&A, Credit Suisse acted as financial advisor to Malaysia's Affin Holdings on its $414 million purchase of Hwang DBS Investment.
There has been a number of big moves of late in the region among senior FIG bankers as investment banks look to position themselves to grab a bigger percentage of the growing revenue pie.
When Tan moved to Credit Suisse last year he replaced Nicolo Salsano, who transferred to Frankfurt to head the Swiss bank’s German and Austrian investment banking department.
Tan was replaced at BofA ML by Patrick Porritt from UBS at around the same time Goldman Sachs named John Mahoney head of FIG for Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, replacing Peter Enns in the role.
