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The Wall Street Journal reports that Ken Okada, a one-time Bear Stearns registered representative, was sentenced to 3 years probation Tuesday, after admitting his involvement in two separate insider information schemes which related to non-public information obtained from individuals at Morgan Stanley and UBS. 13 people have so far pleaded guilty to charges related to the two cases.
The Financial Times reports that Martin Liechti, the Zurich-based head of North and South America for UBS's international wealth management business, has been detained by US authorities investigating whether the Swiss bank may have helped clients evade paying US taxes. Liechti is said to have been 'briefly detained'. UBS has confirmed that it is cooperating with the investigation.
Reuters reports that British small-cap investment bank and broker Numis Corp has posted a $31.62m profit for the 6 months to the end of March. CEO Oliver Hemsley said that the firm is looking to grow its businesses, and will be on the lookout for staff displaced by rivals because of the current market downturn.
Bloomberg reports that RBC Capital Markets has hired 11 staff from CIBC World Markets into its London-based European leveraged finance team.
Reuters reports that Deutsche Bank is moving its Hong Kong offices, and has signed a lease for 18 floors in The International Commerce Centre in Kowloon. The building will be the tallest in the City when complete in 2010, and Deutsche plans to have beefed up its Hong Kong staff to 2,800 (from 1,500) by then. CEO Josef Ackermann told the American Chamber of Commerce in Frankfurt Tuesday that his investment bank would continue to expand in the US and emerging markets too. Deutsche's boss also said that 'we are at the beginning of the end and not the end of the beginning' of the current market crisis. He warned, however, of renewed shocks which could emerge from hedge funds or monoline insurers.
Finally, The Daily Telegraph reports that Citigroup chairman Sir Win Bischoff is also feeling bullish about the markets. Bischoff told the newspaper Tuesday that 'I think....2008 is not going to be easy. But I think there are sufficient numbers of people working very hard to get (the financial system) out of this, and I think we will be able to do so'.