Sean Cho has been hired to lead the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) drive to develop its investment banking business in Korea, the UK lender said yesterday. Cho took up the newly created position as head of investment banking last week, after three years at Macquarie Securities in Seoul, where he was managing director responsible for corporate finance.
Cho has 11 years of experience in investment banking, and "has a strong track record and will bring additional depth to RBS's client relationships and product expertise in Korea", according to a press release. He reports to John Mullins, regional head of banking for Asia-Pacific.
The appointment comes four months after RBS poached Inseok Cha and his team from Barclays Capital to head its corporate risk solutions effort in Korea.
During his time at Macquarie, Cho was involved in several deals across M&A, advisory, debt and equity capital markets. Prior to this, he spent six years at Deutsche Bank Securities Korea as head of TMT and, before that, he worked in international capital markets for Hyundai Securities.
Concurrently, Jae Hee Lee takes on an expanded role as head of corporate, to add to his position as head of FI debt capital markets for Korea. Last year, RBS participated in several key US dollar-denominated bond issues for Korean borrowers, including the Export-Import Bank of Korea, Korea Development Bank and Shinhan Bank.
Lee will work closely with Cho to deliver the bank's wholesale banking product and advisory capabilities in the country.
In the statement yesterday, Mullins said: "Korea is a key market for RBS in the region. The appointment of Cho along with Lee's expanded role is an important step as we deepen our presence in the market."
The bank will make further hires as it grows its business, he added.
RBS's Seoul branch is currently licensed to broker, deal and underwrite securities, and its ABN AMRO branch is licensed for banking, foreign exchange and financial investment.
