U.S. bank's Asia push with senior hire in Hong Kong

Wells Fargo has lured a heavy-hitter with a big promotion as it eyes expansion in Asia.

The U.S. bank has set the early hiring pace in 2022 with a big new hire from BNP Paribas in Hong Kong

Wells bank has hired David Ratliff as head of banking and capital markets. It’s a big promotion for Ratliff, who is a well-known and highly respected senior banker in Hong Kong. “You’ve got yourself a top man, well done”, Jeremy Amias, vice chairman at Standard chartered Americas posted on LinkedIn.

Ratliff was previously head of financial institutions coverage for APAC at BNP Paribas and prior to that spent more than two decades at Citigroup where he worked across global markets.  He also sits on the board of the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association, where he served as chairman from 2012-2016.

Ratliff will report to Jafar Amin, who runs Wells Fargo’s investment bank in Asia and Rob Ritchie, the former HSBC and Goldman Sachs banker who is international head of banking and capital markets. 

The arrival of Ratliff in this newly-created role formalizes Wells Fargo’s APAC CIB push.

The bank put together a regional management team for Asia last year, and Ratliff will lead all the bank’s corporate and institutional client coverage teams in the Asia-Pacific region.

He will work closely with Mandy Wan, who is head of markets for APAC. George Koo, interim head of investment banking and capital markets and debt capital markets, will report into Ratliff, along with Robert Lin, who runs Global Payment Services, Santanu Sengupta, who is head of FIG for South APAC, Rohit Garg's, chief operating officer for APAC CIB banking and capital markets, and Adi Kaushik, who runs Portfolio Management and Underwriting and Loan Syndications & Risk Management.

Wells has been building out its international operations, mainly in London, but this marks its first big hire in Hong Kong.  The bank has so far followed a path of cautious expansion, and Ratliff’s arrival is unlikely to trigger an imminent hiring spree. 

Ratliff will be responsible for setting the bank’s CIB strategy in APAC over the course of 2022,  and his brief is to strengthen the platform with a focus on client coverage. His particular strength is in fostering collaboration between divisions. 

Ratliff will “be a tremendous asset as we continue to develop and strengthen our CIB Banking and Capital Markets Group in the region,” Amin said in a memo announcing the appointment.

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