When Alan Smith returned to work he took no chances. The former head of Jardine Fleming finished his six months of gardening leave on April 1. Not wanting to look a fool he started a week later.
It is a welcome return for Smith, one of Hong Kong's most experienced bankers and dealmakers, who has assumed the role of Credit Suisse First Boston's vice-chairman in Asia. Smith left Jardine Fleming after a difficult year which culminated in the Colin Armstrong fund management scandal.
His new role will be "60% dealing with clients" but he will also help to give CSFB a strategic direction in Asia. "In the early 1990s," says Smith, "CSFB had a good presence in Hong Kong. For reasons about which I know little, that has not been pursued over the past three or four years. I am happy to get back to talking with the clients."
He spent a large part of last year doing the things he never had time to do in his 20 or so frenetic years with Jardine Fleming, such as attending a rodeo in San Antonio. He also took golf lessons in China.