Go west, but not to Chase equities

Deutsche Bank wanted to buy it because it wanted a bigger presence in investment banking in the US. Merrill Lynch considered putting in an offer because it wanted to improve its coverage of the technology sector. But Chase Manhattan is the bank that finally secured the 30-year-old California-based investment-banking boutique Hambrecht & Quist. And this time, the rumour mill has it, it's because Chase needs it as a way into equities. Antony Currie reckons that's not the case

Chase can’t be too surprised about people focusing on the equities capability that its purchase of Hambrecht & Quist – to be known now as Chase Securities West – adds. This is the bank, after all, that has spent two years courting investment banks in the US, and even some abroad, in the hunt for an equity capital markets operation. And speaking to Euromoney earlier in the year Don Layton, vice-chairman in charge of global markets, said: “Stay tuned.

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