Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired Sherry Liu as its chairman and chief executive officer for China, the British bank said yesterday, describing the appointment as part of its overall investment programme in Asia-Pacific.
This is RBS’s fifth senior appointment in the region within just three days. The bank announced on Monday that it had hired four more bankers to its Asia-Pacific equities team in a bid to keep up with the growing amount of business.
Liu will be responsible for overseeing and driving the bank’s overall business strategy in China, across banking, markets, wealth and various joint venture investee companies in the country.
She will report to John McCormick, Asia-Pacific chairman, and Matthew Kirkby, regional head of global banking. She will also join the global banking Asia-Pacific management team.
“Sherry brings 15 years of China investment banking experience to her new role with RBS,” McCormick said in a written statement. “[Her] appointment demonstrates our continuing focus on building our corporate and investment banking business both in and outside of China.
“RBS recognises the importance of success in China as critical to our business performance in Asia-Pacific. The addition of Sherry Liu to what is already a very experienced team is part of our continuing investment to ensure that we can best serve the needs of our clients,” he added.
Liu joins RBS from J.P. Morgan Chase, where she was chairman for China financial institutions and vice-chairman for China.
“I’m excited to be joining RBS in building its franchise in China,” Liu said in the same statement. “RBS has built a fantastic collection of banking businesses and investments in China that very few foreign banks in China can match. I believe RBS has a very compelling growth story and I’m excited to be part of growing these activities to the next level.”
In January this year, RBS appointed Li Cui as chief China economist to lead the bank’s macroeconomic coverage of the country.
Established in China since 1903, RBS operates through a locally incorporated bank headquartered in Shanghai with five branches nationwide and 500 employees.
The bank has also built multiple non-banking business platforms including a wholly owned leasing company, a shareholding in Suzhou Trust and a joint venture with Galaxy Futures. It is the first British bank to win approval to set up a domestic securities joint venture after striking a deal with Guolian Securities.
