Merrill Lynch maps out plan
(19 November 2009 – Australia) Six weeks after his appointment to the position of chief executive officer, Merrill Lynch Australia, Craig Drummond has mapped out some very clear rebuilding expectations for the bank.
Formerly chief executive of Goldman Sachs JB Were, Mr Drummond was appointed to the position after the decision was made to restructure the Australian Business.
The move was reportedly part of an internal target to become one of the top-five investment banks within the next three years, with the ultimate aim of being one of the three largest and most active investment banks in Australia.
Coming up against major investment players such as UBS, Macquarie and former employer Goldman Sachs, Mr Drummond has the ambitious task of rebuilding the US firm’s domestic market shares.
In an interview with The Australian newspaper, Mr Drummond said that the investment bank has a small market share in a lot of businesses; it is visible from the league tables.
Merrill Lynch is a top three player in the US, but in Australia the bank has a lot of work to do around rebuilding its market share and part of this is looking for some high calibre people, Mr Drummond commented.
The goal is to become and pre-eminent player in the market here, Mr Drummond said.
Mr Drummond added that this means generally a top three or four. Being completely realistic, and once the bank has all the right people, Merrill Lynch is looking at three to four years to get there.
This is not a three, six or 12 month proposition., it's about getting the bank organised; it's not just about getting bums on seats to fill the gaps, Mr Drummond said.
Mr Drummond said the bank would have a competitive advantage over some of its rivals by having access to the balance sheet of Bank of America, which is the fifth largest bank in the world and worth US$150 billion (A$161billion).
The bank is eighth on the league tables for ASX trading volumes with a 5.5 percent market share and ninth on equity capital markets with just 3 percent.
The move was reportedly part of an internal target to become one of the top-five investment banks within the next three years, with the ultimate aim of being one of the three largest and most active investment banks in Australia.
Coming up against major investment players such as UBS, Macquarie and former employer Goldman Sachs, Mr Drummond has the ambitious task of rebuilding the US firm’s domestic market shares.
In an interview with The Australian newspaper, Mr Drummond said that the investment bank has a small market share in a lot of businesses; it is visible from the league tables.
Merrill Lynch is a top three player in the US, but in Australia the bank has a lot of work to do around rebuilding its market share and part of this is looking for some high calibre people, Mr Drummond commented.
The goal is to become and pre-eminent player in the market here, Mr Drummond said.
Mr Drummond added that this means generally a top three or four. Being completely realistic, and once the bank has all the right people, Merrill Lynch is looking at three to four years to get there.
This is not a three, six or 12 month proposition., it's about getting the bank organised; it's not just about getting bums on seats to fill the gaps, Mr Drummond said.
Mr Drummond said the bank would have a competitive advantage over some of its rivals by having access to the balance sheet of Bank of America, which is the fifth largest bank in the world and worth US$150 billion (A$161billion).
The bank is eighth on the league tables for ASX trading volumes with a 5.5 percent market share and ninth on equity capital markets with just 3 percent.
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