Recruiting in China

Merrill Lynch is seeking to expand its presence in emerging market economies such as Brazil, Russia, India and China as it looks for new sources of growth to mitigate the downturn in US markets, John Thain, Merrill Lynch’s chief executive, said on Wednesday.

Speaking as Merrill Lynch opened a new office in Moscow, Mr Thain said the bank’s shift towards the so-called Bric economies would mean that overall headcount at the bank would not decrease even as it slashed about 1,000 staff at its mortgage and fixed-income divisions at home due to the subprime crisis amid fourth-quarter losses of $9.8bn.

“As the US economy slows, we are looking for growth prospects outside the US. The Bric economies are going to continue to grow ... Russia is one of the most important places.”

Wall Street banks have been pouring resources back into Russia over the past year, prompting hiring wars for a small pool of Russia experts and sending salaries soaring. Last year saw $42bn in Russian IPOs in London and Moscow and bankers expect the volume could reach up to $50bn this year.

Merrill Lynch was Russia’s top M&A adviser last year, according to Dealogic, winning $64.3bn in deals, nearly a third of the total.

Russia’s energy-driven equity markets have been seen by investors as a relatively safe haven.

Mr Thain said Russia was more protected than other world markets, including emerging ones. “No one is immune from the global slowdown. But Russia is probably more insulated than other Bric economies.”