Asian investment banking’s dream team: UBS

	How to score in Asia’s markets

		The banks battling to get into the big league
		How we calculated the Asia Premier League
		Bank of America Merrill Lynch	Barclays Capital
		Citi	Credit Suisse
		Deutsche Bank	Goldman Sachs
		HSBC	JP Morgan
		Morgan Stanley	Nomura
		Standard Chartered	UBS

Asian investment banking’s dream team

UBS
SCORE: 81
RANK: 3rd
WEIGHTED SCORE: 112 (2^nd)

Management	7 points
Top-level changes to a successful team, with Rob Rankin leaving for Deutsche and Matt Koder relocating to London, have been forced upon UBS. They’ve chosen to promote internally, which looks like a smart move given the firm’s track record, and co-heads of investment banking Matt Hanning and David Chin have kept the firm’s equities platform on top

DCM	6 points
Never been a priority for UBS, except in selected markets. But has had a recent surge to top of Asia league tables thanks to its China connection, which has started pumping out big deals no other foreign bank can get near.

ECM – STAR PLAYER	9 points
Fee-earning business in Asia equities remains the most important part of the formation, and there’s no doubt UBS’s trophy cupboard is stacked with prized equity mandates. Whether it’s IPOs or block deals, they always seem to score

M&A	7 points
Has recently made a good habit of getting on the deals that actually went through to completion, although disappeared off the park for this year’s key deal, AIA/Prudential.

Australia	9 points
Always the team to beat in Australia, picked up all the juicy bank finance mandates and scores in debt and M&A as well. The most rounded player in UBS’s formation.

India – WEAK LINK	4 points
UBS’s IPO model is to date ill-suited to the low-margin markets of India, which is clearly not a priority for the bank in the same way it is for a Deutsche or Citi

North Asia	6 points
Taiwan aside, where most firms struggle, UBS does its share of business in Korea and Hong Kong. Solid performer, not likely to get called up for international promotion

Southeast Asia	8 points
Great presence in the crucial markets of Indonesia, dominates the Philippines, Maxis deal showed strength in Malaysia, and on the big DBS deal in Singapore. Clearly a top three player

Japan	5 points
Sneaks into overall top 10 for investment banking revenue, but momentum of what was once one of the stronger Japan franchises seems to be slipping. Missed out on the second-biggest ever IPO in Japan this year in the form of insurer Dai-Ichi’s flotation. Brought in new Japan CEO Toshiharu Kojima in January 2009 to turn it around

China	8 points
Top foreign shop in China by sheer deal flow. It’s got the right players in early and has built up a good points lead. But has an aggressive playing style — will that come back to hurt them?

Markets	7 points
If we were giving a rating out of 10 purely for the equities trading business, UBS might score an 11. It’s also a top player in FX, but critics say it lacks real muscle elsewhere.

Owner	5 points
Real problems here for UBS’s team in Asia. The bank’s global brand has taken a pounding over the past three years. Despite this, the investment bank in Asia has managed to stay in the Champions League places. How long it can continue to do so while the owner struggles remains to be seen

If UBS was a premier league club it would be:	CHELSEA
For the last five years the club has challenged for top honours. Despite recent upheavals and management changes it’s there or thereabouts and should never be written off. But changes to the playing staff seem inevitable. Are we seeing the end of the UBS era?