Making cuts in Asia balanced by funding needs

European financial institutions that want access to Asian liquidity should think twice about cutting staff and closing desks in the region.

European banks and insurers are facing a difficult political balancing act looking to Asian markets to recapitalise their balance sheets, while at the same time paring back their operations in the region.

On Thursday, Zurich Insurance from Switzerland completed a highly successful $500 million perpetual, non-call-six hybrid bond deal that was sold 77% to Asian accounts. Most of the deal was placed with Asian private banking accounts and demand was such at $4 billion that pricing came in at 8.25%. This was 75bp inside the initial guidance set by leads Barclays Capital, Citi, HSBC and RBS.

The deal is the latest in a trend that started...

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