Watts widens Merrill’s horizons

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What's the signiWcance of Merrill Lynch's decision to appoint a British banker, Kevan Watts, in London as co-head of its global investment banking group? "The location is clearly a large part of it but my background outside the US also played a role," Watts says. Watts joined Merrill in 1981 and spent 17 years toiling for it outside the US. He worked in advisory and Wnance for UK clients in the 1980s and recalls Xoating Euromoney in 1986 at £4.60 a share. "It's been a very successful company," he says.
He rose to be head of investment banking for Europe, Middle East and Africa in 1993, then executive chairman of Asia PaciWc in 1997. The message to all Merrill investment bankers is that one of their bosses is conversant with doing business abroad. Merrill's other co-head of investment banking, Daniel Bayly, has spent his career in the US.
Watts may now channel more investment banking resources overseas. Merrill's US investment bankers may well have to come up with some good explanations if they have not attended meetings with clients in Europe and Asia.Most investment banks see a restructuring Europe as a growth market and are sending teams. Is that not a sure sign that pickings will be slimmer than most of them hope? Watts says: "Investment banking is a cyclical business but it can also be a growth business for the most successful Wrms. We have caught up with Goldman and Morgan Stanley from behind relatively quickly. Investment banking was always a core business for them but it wasn't for Merrill as our origins were in private client and distribution." He certainly knows how to pick his targets. "We have come a long way but there is plenty more to go for and I am very conWdent that we will be able to take more market share from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley." The trick, says Watts, is marshalling Merrill's resources more eYciently and "getting our best people in front of the right clients consistently." But it's not easy dealing with big egos. "Someone once said that managing investment bankers is like trying to herd cats."

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Watts widens Merrill’s horizons

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