Ginsburg leaves Morgan Stanley; tipped for Barclays job

Matthew Ginsburg, Morgan Stanley's head of investment banking for Asia-Pacific, has resigned from the firm that he joined in 1995 in a move industry insiders say is surprising because he gave the impression of being a Morgan Stanley banker through and through.

While not confirmed yet, sources say Ginsburg will take on the head of Asia-Pacific investment banking job at Barclays Capital which has been vacant since Darcy Lai left the UK firm in early March. While identical in terms of title, the Barclays job presents a very different challenge since it involves building up an equity capital markets and M&A business from a low base.

Morgan Stanley confirmed Ginsburg's departure on Friday and said he is being replaced by Gokul Laroia and Kate Richdale, who will share the responsibility for the investment banking business in the region as co-heads. Laroia has been with Morgan Stanley for 14 years and was previous head of global capital markets for Asia, which includes both debt and equity origination. Richdale has been with the firm for almost 10 years and was most recently CEO for Southeast Asia -- a position she has held since November 2008. Before that she ran the general industries group in Hong Kong. Laroia and Richdale started their new jobs on Friday last week.

Ginsburg's resignation is the latest in a string of departures and reshuffles among the investment banking heads in the region this year. The moves suggest Asia's investment banking industry is in for an interesting time in the next few years as new players build up their businesses and try to capture market share from the major houses that continue to feel the effects of the financial crisis.

The departures may have been partly driven by the increased uncertainty about the future at some of these major banks as losses and write-downs mounted, and government bailouts and stake sales to shore-up leaking balance sheets became the norm. But the lack of bonuses in the past year and suggestions of restricted payouts in years to come also likely played a part. On the one hand, it has meant that top bankers have much less to lose when they make a move in or out of the industry. On the other hand, the best chance for a high-paid banker to keep compensation at roughly the same level as in years past is to accept an offer from a rival bank that comes with certain guarantees.

It is not clear what the driver was behind Ginsburg's decision, although both of the above are likely to have had some influence.

People familiar with the search process for a new investment banking head at Barclays say there are indications that the new hire may also be a prime candidate to eventually succeed Robert Morrice as CEO for Asia, a position that he has held since 2001. Morrice is also chairman for the region. Such a possibility would certainly make the move to a firm that it still very much in a build-up phase when it comes to being a broad-based investment banking franchise a lot more attractive for a senior investment banker like Ginsburg.   

Ginsburg is a good catch for Barclays as the bank puts renewed focus on beefing up its equity and M&A business globally following its acquisition of Lehman Brothers' US business in the fourth quarter last year after the US investment bank filed for bankruptcy. In May last year the bank also hired a team of investment bankers from ABN AMRO to kick-start its corporate finance and M&A business.

Ginsburg is right for the job, bankers say, because he has experience both within M&A and equities. He is also viewed as a good manager, although some say he will need to take more risks - and perhaps go after more high-profile hires - than at a well-established firm like Morgan Stanley as he tries to up Barclays profile outside its long-time fixed-income focus.