Leonteq launches onshore operations in Japan

Leonteq has expanded its presence in Asia-Pacific with the opening of an office in Tokyo to serve the Japanese market. The Swiss bank will commence onshore operations in Japan through subsidiary, Leonteq Securities (Japan), which will be established on 1 May, 2018. The bank already has offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.

'Japan has become one of the largest markets for structured products following decades of low or negative interest rates and the company will offer a wide range of products to Japanese investors seeking alternative investment solutions,' said the bank in a statement. 'Leonteq will give investors access to structured products issued by Leonteq Securities and by its partners such as EFG International and Raiffeisen Switzerland.'

Leonteq's Tokyo operations will be managed by Satoshi Kubo (pictured), who assumed the role of chief executive officer and representative director of the company. Since joining Leonteq in 2016, Kubo has been responsible for establishing the company's Japanese client base from Hong Kong. He previously worked for Goldman Sachs, where he was a managing director and held various leadership roles in sales and structuring. He started his career in the structuring business at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi (currently MUFG Bank), before moving to Tokyo Mitsubishi Securities (currently Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities).

'Most of the demand in Japan is currently coming from equity-focused investors asking for products such as fixed coupon notes based on US and Japanese stocks as well as Japanese, US or European indices,' according to a bank official. 'We have been establishing the presence in Tokyo over the past two years and we already have a considerable client base. We expect to be able to onboard more clients as we go onshore and can engage with clients more closely. We plan to continuously grow our local presence over time as we grow our client and revenue base.'

Leonteq Securities (Japan) operates as a Type 1 Financial Instruments Business Operator regulated by the Financial Services Agency and a member of the Japan Securities Dealers Association.

Earlier in January, the Swiss bank reported a strong performance in Asia Pacific, which delivered a 21% increase in net fee income year-on-year, to CHF36.2m (US$36.7m), and registered Leonteq Securities (Japan) Preparation in Tokyo prior to the launch of the onshore operation in Japan.

Leonteq is seeking to leverage its access to over 1,200 share values and other asset classes, as well as around 800 indices as underlying assets to provide tradeable alternative combinations. The bank also has a comprehensive coverage of insurance solutions, a traditionally popular product in Japan, and is the only provider in the market manufacturing and distributing structured products on a white-labelling basis through its proprietary technology platform (Leonteq Constructor).

The bank's structured products issuance increased by 27% in 2017. As a result, total turnover rose by 28% to CHF26.8 billion, revenues in its home market of Switzerland up by 25%, or CHF102.3m. The platform assets of Leonteq's platform partners also increased to CHF8.4 billion over the same period, up 24% compared to teh end of 2016. Leonteq's outstanding products increased by 25%, to CHF3 billion, by the end of 2017.

The bank was the 16^th most active issuer globally in 2017, with over 2,000 products marketed worth an estimated $4.4bn, across Switzerland, Italy and France, excluding leverage and flow products, according to SRP data. Year to date, the bank has marketed 412 products worth an estimated $914m. Leonteq also has over 4,000 live products across several European markets, including Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy and France, according to SRP data.

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