Rankin is going to Deutsche Bank

After more than six months of largely bad news on the employment front -- here is an announcement that is a true win-win for both the bank and the individual. Deutsche Bank is in the process of finalising a contract to hire former senior UBS banker Robert Rankin as CEO for Asia-Pacific (ex-Japan, but including Australia).

Here is why the announcement is a coup. Rankin used to run the Asia-Pacific investment banking division for UBS. While at UBS, he was well known as a dealmaker who was able to juggle four transactions and keep his eye on the next six. A conversation with Rankin is an exercise in itself -- he's so genuinely excited about his projects that you can't help but get caught up. And when you're finished talking to him, you feel as if you've run a marathon. He's a deal man.

So, Deutsche Bank gets the opportunity to scoop up a truly senior banker who has his finger on the pulse. The German bank -- having not taken any government money to date -- is signalling it will have the money and the risk tolerance to invest in deals that Rankin believes in.

At the same time, Rankin gets a bigger job. "This is a very broad regional remit," says a source close to the negotiations. "Rob will bring enormous experience to the job but he's also taking on a very senior role within Deutsche Bank so this is a big step forward in his career."

Deutsche Bank has roughly 18,000 employees in Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan but including Australia.

Deutsche Bank officials declined to comment on this story. And so did Rankin, who is currently on vacation with his family after resigning from UBS in the first half of March.

Sources close to the negotiations say Rankin will succeed Colin Grassie, who plans to return to Europe in a senior role with Deutsche Bank. The hiring of Rankin could be announced later this month, however he is not likely to begin the new job for some months as he will still be on gardening leave.

Speculation about where Rankin would turn up has been a hot topic in investment banking circles. Many figured Rankin would likely take one of the head jobs around the region and Deutsche Bank and Barclays Capital were obvious choices. The rumours that Grassie was ready to leave the region have been around for some time, which is why Deutsche Bank was a likely alternative; at the same time Barclays Capital's head of Asia-Pacific investment banking, Darcy Lai, left the firm in early March. Of the two, Barclays is a smaller franchise than Deutsche Bank, so most put their money on the latter option. Barclays is said to still be interviewing candidates to replace Lai. 

These changes on the investment banking front are part of a larger trend of banks reorganising themselves and -- partly as a result of that -- of high-up bankers leaving for firms that might be a better fit in the new financial environment. Invariably, the reorganisation includes relocating more top guns for jobs out here, taking two old-Asia hands and giving them a shared title, or even adding new jobs because, relative to the rest of the world, Asia is looking pretty good. The moves show the direction each firm thinks is its best bet.

For example, when Rankin left UBS in early March, the firm announced that he would be succeeded by David Chin and Matthew Hanning, who became joint heads of investment banking for Asia. Both are based in Hong Kong and have extensive experience in M&A banking -- Chin led UBS's financial institutions group and Hanning had headed up mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance since he joined from Morgan Stanley in 2006. In addition to Chin and Hanning, UBS added yet another layer. It appointed Henry Cai to a new role as chairman of investment banking for Asia, a job that he took on in addition to his current role as head of investment banking for China. That signals the firm is still putting its eggs in the China basket.