Barclays is looking to undertake key hirings in investment banking and wealth management across Asian countries, a media report said. The multinational UK-based bank had exited several Asian markets after a corporate restructuring in 2016.
Barclays current targets for expansion include China, India, Singapore, and Australia and the bank is also planning to increase hiring in Japan and Hong Kong. It has already hired nine key executives in the last eight months across Asia.
"We are profitable in the region and I fully expect it to continue in 2022. Our focus is going to be consistent - try and stick to the areas where we are strong. There are enough areas for us to drive returns today and that's what we are focused on," said Jaideep Khanna, head of Barclays Asia-Pacific and India CEO, in an interview with Bloomberg.
Barclays had exited or scaled back operations in markets like Australia, South Korea and Malaysia in 2016 under the guidance of former CEO Jes Staley who had cut down on hundreds of jobs across the globe. The bank had maintained its prime brokerage and derivatives business while closing its primary banking services.
"Barclays in 2021-22 is a very different business that existed prior to 2016. It is much more focused now, generating better returns with more local knowledge and more self-awareness," Khanna said.
Two of the bigger markets that Barclays, and several other rival banks, are looking to invest heavily in China and India. Barclays had committed to investing $400 million in India to grow its corporate, investment and wealth management businesses in August. India makes up the bank’s second-biggest employee workforce, only behind the UK.
Khanna said Barclays is probably the only international bank of its size with a regional CEO based out of India. "That gives a sense to how important India is," he said.
In China, President Xi Jinping has opened the country’s borders to international banking enterprises. Barclays has already hired a regional head of distressed debt and special situations debt trading, among other strategic hires in the region.
"In China we are small, we see the potential and we want to continue to invest in a calibrated and deliberate manner there. Diversification in financial services is the holy grail. That has saved firms," Khanna added.
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