Search results for

Andre Esteves, who was chairman and chief executive of Latin America at UBS Pactual, has left the firm to set up a fund. Rodrigo Xavier will replace him and will report to Jerker Johansson, chairman and chief executive of UBS Investment Bank. In addition, Juerg Haller has been named chairman and chief executive of UBS Latin America, spanning all business groups.

On June 11, Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela, agreed to remove a tax of 1.5% on all financial transactions, admitting that the government did not need this revenue and that it was helping to push up inflation. He also introduced new exchange rate controls that will reduce the paperwork for capital goods imports. But this applies only to companies seeking $50,000 or less.

As one door closes, another opens. Odey Asset Management closed its $40 million Japan hedge fund in June after it fell more than $1 billion in 18 months. The same month, though, the manager announced that it would be creating a fund of hedge funds subsidiary in order to play out some of its investment theme convictions.

Michael Philipp, chairman of Middle East and Africa at Credit Suisse, left the bank last month to set up his own business. His new, independent company will focus on investment management and advisory services in the region.

Citi has promoted Tom King to a new position of head of EMEA banking. His role encompasses investment banking and the corporate and commercial bank. He will also oversee the newly created capital markets origination group for the region.

Malaysia’s CIMB has finally closed a deal in Thailand after it was outbid by ICBC on a previous attempt to buy ACL Bank. CIMB will now acquire 42% of BankThai, and, pending regulatory approval, will then scoop up the bank’s remaining equity, paying around Bt2.10 per share for stock last seen trading at Bt1.32. BankThai is in desperate need of funding after suffering heavy losses on overseas CDO investments. Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has put CIMB and its holding company BCHB on Creditwatch with negative implications, saying it needs to discuss fundng and integration plans with the group before reversing that move.

Credit crunch? What credit crunch? This could be the Middle East’s favourite mantra. But for bad as well as good, bankers in the region are acutely aware of events in the rest of the world.

Banco General continues to lead the residential mortgage market, with a 31.5% market share in December 2007, and has now developed a foothold in the corporate and retail segments. The bank has also diversified into other financial services including private banking and corporate finance. In 2007, the bank acted as lead arranger on five debt deals, including four bond transactions.

Many hedge funds are significantly more hedged that they were one year ago, says Steve Gross, principal of Penso Capital Markets, a New York asset management and risk management firm.

A survey by AIMA Australia reveals that almost 70% of superfunds – Australia’s pension funds – intend to increase allocations to hedge funds by nearly 90% over the next two to five years. AIMA surveyed superfunds with more than $100 billion in combined assets.

Man Group has bought a 25% stake in alternative investment manager Nephila Capital. The Bermuda-based manager specializes in insurance-based instruments such as catastrophe bonds, weather derivatives and insurance-linked securities.

To hold the number one position in terms of total loans to the private sector, deposits, mutual funds, mortgage loans, credit card loans and net fee income in a market shows that the bank in question is clearly doing something right. Banco Santander Río, the biggest banking franchise in Argentina, not only holds the top spot in several market segments, it can also boast a 40% increase in profits this year. New clients and managed margins increased profits to $290 million. In terms of organic growth, Santander Río has grown impressively compared with its competitors, with middle-market clients increasing 116.3% in three years.