Standard Chartered showed the largest increase in market share ever recorded in the survey’s nine-year history moving from 12^th place to fourth in the overall rankings and doubling its market share. The bank leveraged off its relationships in the local bond markets and hired talent in research (notably Imtiaz Shefuddin), sales (for example, Barry Tan) and trading (Nicolas Lee) to build out its platform in Asian G3 bonds.

 

J.P. Morgan was the overall market leader for the fourth consecutive year.

 

Although UBS fell to eighth place from second in the last survey, it was ranked second in research with Edwin Chan the top-ranking analyst for the second consecutive year.

 

The merged Bank of America Merrill Lynch was ranked fifth. “I think BAML has shown the biggest improvement in bond inventory this year. They have good market coverage after merging with Merrill Lynch. Their salespeople are quite good. My sales coverage knows my needs, provides us with the most updated new issue info and trade ideas,” says a leading investor in Hong Kong.

 

Many respondents point out that Credit Suisse having hired the ‘kingmaker’ in Asian G3 bonds, trader Richard Cohen, stands to extend its franchise in the year ahead. In past years, Credit Suisse has been strongly identified with high yield bonds, as well as private deals. The latest survey indicates that Credit Suisse has now begun to make market share gains in investment grade bonds.

 

Despite the problems Citi faced during the credit crisis, it managed to slightly increase market share. Citi retains two of the most-admired individuals in research –the sovereign analyst, Johanna Chua and the credit analyst, So-Yon Sohn.

 

Key investors in the bond market report that Citi has been less cautious in using its balance sheet in recent months.“Citi has moved up to our Tier 1 counterparty this year from Tier 3 last year. Their management is now better. They have hired some good people and have become a bit more client-focused. Things were dicey at Citi a year ago and this is not the case any more. They were being able to use their balance sheet again and to take risk. Their sales team has a good knowledge of our needs.“

 

Another luminary of Asian fixed income, Ben Falloon, has been making his mark at Morgan Stanley. “Ben Falloon has done a very good job in upgrading the sales force,” one major investor believes.

 

“Morgan Stanley have been trying to beef up their team. They have completed their desk analyst team. They have probably seven analysts helping the traders. Morgan Stanley is in the process of hiring more traders. In 2010, they will have a good research platform, a strong sales team and with good traders on board, and I think they can do very well,” the investor says.

 

Other banks to have made gains in market share are Royal Bank of Scotland and Nomura, which is rebuilding the former Lehman Brothers franchise. “Royal Bank of Scotland has moved up to our Tier 1 counterparty this year from Tier 2 last year. The people who have been assigned to us have put in a lot of effort and are more focused on us. Their sales coverage is much better now,” reports an active investor in Singapore.

 

ING has maintained its specialist franchise in Asia ex Hong Kong and Singapore ranked sixth with a 7% Market Share.

 

The survey is the most detailed of its type. Uniquely focused on Asian G3 bonds, it measures the market share for all banks according to the geographical location and the type of investor, including asset managers, hedge funds and private banks. It also analyzes the criteria that investors use to select their bank counterparties. Other data sets include best practice in sales and research, the penetration of e-trading platforms and the top-ranking individuals (economists/sovereign analysts, credit analysts, salespeople and traders).

 

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