UBS to double investment banking staff

MUMBAI: UBS will nearly double its investment banking staff in India to up to 180 in the next year as it prepares to offer more services and retain its share of the increasingly competitive business, the head of UBS in India said.

UBS tops the merger and advisory table so far this year, up from seventh spot last year, data from Thomson Financial showed.

“Our challenge and our desire is to remain among the top three investment banks in India,” Manisha Girotra, managing director and chairperson for UBS India, said on Thursday. “It’s becoming a very competitive market, with big investment banks all hiring people and going after the same market share,” she said.

The competition extended to staffing. Hiring and retention of talent were the biggest challenges, Girotra said.

UBS, which employs about 1,600 people in India now, will increase its broking and investment banking team in India from 100 now, Girotra said. It will add 1,000 people to its offshoring facility that services its US and European operations.

UBS ranks seventh this year in Indian equity capital raising, according to Dealogic, and competition among investment banks was fierce, with low fees and many deals crowded with several underwriters, Girotra said. “You just have to do a lot of deals to make your bread,” she said.