(24 March 2010 – Australia) The Australian division of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has lost eight of its equity analysts to rival global finance house Nomura Australia.The bank’s losses include retail, food and beverages analyst David Cooke and healthcare analyst David Stanton, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
RBS’s Australian materials and industrials team, including heads Simon Thackray and Richard Johnson, also took the plunge to move to the Japanese group; RBS also suffered the casualty of four junior analysts and two research sales staff, according to the sources.
The major walk-out will rock the Australian arm of the bank, who up until yesterday boasted 45 analysts.
The Japanese based bank has been focused on building its Australian investment banking presence, and mid last year made three key hires in an attempt to win further market share.