The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired Ernfred Olsen as country executive and head of global banking and markets (GBM) in Japan.
Olsen will be responsible for a broad range of activities in Japan, subject to regulatory approvals, for both The Royal Bank of Scotland Securities Japan (RBSSJ) and the RBS Tokyo Branch, as well as the overall country management for these two entities. He reports jointly to John Mullins, head of banking for Asia-Pacific, and to Pierre Ferland, head of markets for Asia-Pacific.
Olsen succeeds Lee Knight, formerly head of GBM in Japan, who recently relocated to take up the role of head of markets in Singapore.
Commenting on the new appointment, Mullins said: "Ernie is a key hire for RBS in the region. He brings with him a wealth of experience in Japan's financial markets and a strong track record of delivering tailored solutions across a wide range of products to clients in the country."
"As one of RBS's global trading hubs, Japan is an important market for us and Ernie will be a key addition as we build the business in the country," added Ferland. "His skills and experience and broad mandate will help to strengthen the bank in Japan and deepen our relationships with our client base."
Olsen has nearly 30 years' experience in the financial sector. He began his career with Chase Manhattan Bank in 1981, spending time in the banking and securities businesses in New York and Tokyo, before moving to Bank of America. While at Bank of America he merged the corporate and investment banking businesses in Japan and oversaw the coverage and product teams. He established and ran the Japan office for Financial Security Assurance and was general manager of Shinsei Bank from 2000 to 2005. More recently, he founded New City Mortgage, a residential mortgage lending platform in Japan.
In addition to Olsen joining the firm, RBS has also made two internal appointments: Ryusuke Otani becomes chief executive officer of RBSSJ in addition to his current role as chief operations officer. And Toby Taniguchi becomes head of markets for Japan and president of RBSSJ, in addition to his current role as head of GBM sales for Japan.
