Nomura hires Dan McNamara from Citi as regional head of FIG

Dan McNamara has signed up at Nomura, moving from Citi where he was head of both the financial institutions group (FIG) and real estate, according to sources close to the development. At Nomura, McNamara will head FIG investment banking for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan and co-head corporate finance. The Tokyo-based bank yesterday also made three senior appointments within investment banking in Australia: Ian Maxton, Ed de Salis and John Hanson.

McNamara was a senior investment banker at Citi. Aside from the two important portfolios he headed when he left, he has also held other key positions at the bank, including co-head of investment banking for Asia-Pacific together with Mark Renton. McNamara took up his current job at the US bank when Farhan Faruqui was appointed head of global banking for Asia-Pacific in February this year -- a role that includes overseeing investment banking. The position of global investment banking head for Asia-Pacific was eliminated as part of that restructuring.

FIG is a focus area for firms in Asia-Pacific, as many banks in the region are in growth mode. Citi has done well in FIG year-to-date on McNamara's watch. The US bank tops Dealogic's league table ranking for both G3 debt capital markets issuance with 26 deals, and mergers and acquisitions with 11 announced deals. Nomura will be hoping that McNamara brings with him some of these relationships and replicates his success at the Japanese bank when he joins after his gardening leave.

McNamara will co-head corporate finance with ex-Citi colleague Shaheryar Chishty, who is head of industrials investment banking at Nomura, and Robert Chiu, who heads telecommunications, media and technology investment banking. Chishty was poached by Nomura in October last year. Chiu was previously regional head of TMT investment banking for Asia-Pacific and chairman of Taiwan investment banking at Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong. Both Chishty and Chiu joined Nomura early this year. Chishty, Chiu and McNamara all report to Glenn Schiffman, who was appointed head of investment banking for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan along with Toshiyasu Iiyama in November last year.