What about equity capital markets?
We are a top three player in Asia in ECM and in Australia we are advising Telstra on the sale of T3, which puts us in the middle of the biggest equity deal in the pipeline. Looking ahead I see a great opportunity for us to play a part in cross-border transactions between Australia and Asia. We have a good distribution network in Asia and can help Australian companies with placements in the region and beyond. An example of this was last year’s $1 billion IPO for Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund. We also see a trend in wealthy local investors increasing their exposure to emerging markets – and here we can help with our strong international network.

Does this cross border theme extend to your M&A advisory business?
More so than ever, given the commodity needs of China, India and Indonesia. The burgeoning economies of these three countries are benefiting Australia tremendously given the proximity. Australian companies have a history of buying businesses in Europe and the US, but many are underrepresented in Asia. There are also plenty of Asian corporates in India and China who want to increase their distribution and production in Australia, particularly in the resources sector. We recently hired Neville Gardiner as a Perth-based resources banker, and he will work closely with Shamus Hassan, the head of natural resources banking in the region, to help tap this market.

Do you want to be a top three player in Australia? How do you plan to tackle strong contenders like UBS and Macquarie Bank?
Yes, we do want to be a top bank in Australia, but it isn’t going to be an overnight story. There are some very strong players in Australia that have dominated the league tables for several years, so it will take us time to match them. For Merrill Lynch, the cornerstones are profitability and sustainability – we’re not going to buy market share.