Credit Suisse Hires for New Stock Underwriting Team in Japan

(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG hired Tatsuya Watanabe from UBS Group AG to help lead a new stock-underwriting team in Japan, the latest sign of its renewed interest in the nation’s share market.

Watanabe, 42, began working for the Swiss bank earlier this month as co-head of an equity capital markets division created in Tokyo to strengthen underwriting, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg.

Japanese stocks are booming despite the coronavirus pandemic, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average touching a 30-year high this month amid expectations that foreign investors may return after a six-year sell-off. Credit Suisse has hired three stock analysts since November, while Swiss rival UBS recruited researchers and traders in Japan last year.

Read more about Credit Suisse’s hiring of analysts in Tokyo

Ryuya Hishinuma, head of investment banking and capital markets in Japan, said his team is “selectively investing in senior talent” to enhance client services.

Watanabe, with more than 15 years of experience in equity capital markets business, will work with the other co-head Satoko Honda, 44, according to the memo. They will report to Masahito Shimada, head of Japan’s capital markets solutions group.

Eiko Noda, a spokeswoman for Credit Suisse in Tokyo, confirmed the contents of the document.

Credit Suisse was ranked eighth among underwriters of Japanese stock offerings last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its position has risen for three straight years.

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