Citigroup
| Harold Kim |
Clients noted Citi's strong reach across all markets in Asia. It was also singled out for its wide offering of investment products incorporating exotic payoffs and cross-asset class exposure, a group run by Harold Kim, managing director in Asia-Pacific equity derivatives, based in Hong Kong. "They've come up with a lot of funky structures that are still competitively priced," said one Singapore-based customer, noting for example best-of structures among equity, fixed income and commodity baskets.
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank's hedge fund sales business under Denis MacCarthy, head of institutional sales in Hong Kong, stands out for its strong product range including variance swap-related trades in 2006.
JPMorgan
| David Long |
Pricing and technical capabilities are big factors among fans of JPMorgan. The exotic flow side of the business--which offers products such as worst-of and daily accruals--was also singled out this year for attention by investors, who approve of the group run by David Long, managing director and head of equity derivatives in Hong Kong.
SG Corporate & Investment Banking
| Nicolas Reille |
SG was selected this year for its ability to consistently offer exotic structured products to a wide range of client segments, including retail. The group is run by Nicolas Reille, co-head of equity derivatives in Hong Kong. "For exotics this is the house to go to," said one private banking client.
UBS
The Swiss house's wide range of constant proportion portfolio insurance structures received plaudits from users this year as well as its massive distribution capability in the region, led by Min Park, head of equity risk in Hong Kong.
