Rabobank's Asia head takes global role

Donal Galvin, Rabobank's head of Asia-Pacific financial markets, has assumed global responsibility for the bank's equity and fund derivatives business, following the resignation of Alan Shaffran in New York, who was previously head of structured equity and fund derivatives.

Galvin's appointment once again demonstrates the growing importance of Asia to banks' bottom lines. Increasingly, banks with beleaguered teams in Europe and the US are appointing senior (and profitable) Asian investment bankers to global roles.

Rabobank's move follows Deutsche Bank's recent decision to relocate Noreddine Sebti, its global head of equity trading, to Asia from New York to be responsible for the full range of the bank's customer-facing equity business, including cash equities, derivatives capabilities such as synthetic access to local markets, exotics and flow, illiquid equity derivatives trading and financing.