Macquarie Group, a winner so far amid the financial crisis, will continue its Wall Street hiring spree and keep its eyes open for more boutique acquisitions, the Australian investment bank's top US executive told Reuters in an interview.
Best known as the world's largest investor in public infrastructure, the 40-year-old bank has taken advantage of Wall Street's shakeout by expanding its US staff by more than a third since the second half of 2007. With hires and by snapping up boutique firms, the Down Under bank now has 270 investment bankers across the United States. Macquarie Capital US head Tim Bishop said the bank still sees opportunities to add staff and win a bigger share of the investment banking market.
"We have a unique opportunity in the US to grow and build out what we've done elsewhere in the world," Bishop said. "What we're doing here is entirely consistent with what we're doing in Asia and Australia."
Macquarie, best known as an acquirer of public toll roads, airports and other infrastructure, wants to be seen as a global financial services company with a range of businesses. Five years ago the Sydney-based bank bought the Asia business of ING Barings to gain a presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to Thomson Reuters data, Macquarie is ranked 13th in global equity underwriting this year, and No 11 for stock offerings in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan. The bank employs about 13,000 people world-wide.
About two years ago, Macquarie starting making a big push in US capital markets by hiring investment bankers, underwriters and traders. The credit crunch and a deep recession fuelled layoffs across Wall Street, letting Macquarie accelerate its expansion plans, Bishop said. The goal is to focus on companies with $5 billion of market value and less, preferably in fast-growing industries.