西方銀行在亞洲如何賺錢

Ask a banker in Asia about the $25,000 fee that Morgan Stanley accepted for leading an $800m dairy deal in Vietnam, and eyebrows are raised.

問問亞洲銀行業者關於摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)擔當越南一筆價值8億美元的奶製品業交易的首席財務顧問僅收費2.5萬美元的事，對方會驚訝地擡起眉毛。

One wag even joked that he knew bankers who paid more for their suits.

其中一個愛開玩笑的甚至打趣道，他認識的銀行業者有的買西服都不止這麼多錢。

But, quickly, the surprise and the quips are replaced by another question: what else did Morgan Stanley receive to make the deal worth it?

但是，驚訝和打趣很快被另一個問題取代：摩根士丹利還得到了什麼值得它接下這單業務的東西？

A payday of $25,000 is a low absolute number by any standards for a bank that just collected $120m for advising on another deal: Monsanto’s takeover by Bayer.

對於這家爲另外一筆交易——拜耳(Bayer)收購孟山都(Monsanto)——收取1.2億美元諮詢費的銀行來說，無論以何種標準，2.5萬美元的數額都是一個很低的絕對值。

But it is hardly the lowest of lowballs in a region where tales abound of Indian flotations that paid a single rupee and Chinese tycoons who only grudgingly pay up, if at all.

但是，在這個充斥着印度企業花1盧比完成股票發行以及中國大亨勉強付清費用（甚至不付）故事的地區，這也算不上是最低的報價。

Morgan Stanley declined to comment on its reasons for accepting such a relatively small fee for leading the sale of a 9 per cent stake in Vinamilk, worth $830m.

對於爲什麼願意以如此少的費用擔當Vinamilk售股交易（出售9%股份，價值8.3億美元）的首席財務顧問，摩根士丹利拒絕置評。

A western rival who was also prepared to do the deal for that fee said the banks involved would make additional money from brokerage charges on the sale of the shares.

一家也願意以同等費用爲該交易提供財務諮詢的對手西方投行稱，相關銀行可以從股份出售的經紀費中賺取額外收益。

Even so, it is still an example of the difficulties of making money in Asia, where the most profitable opportunities are not usually found in the highest-profile deal work.

即便如此，這仍然表明了投行在亞洲賺錢的難度，在這裏，利潤最高的機會往往不在那些最引人注目的交易業務中。

In the US, the most lucrative market for investment banking, brokerage fees or profits from lending to an investor are the cherry on the cake.

在美國這個投行最賺錢的市場，經紀費或來自向投資者放貸的利潤，都是蛋糕上的櫻桃。

In Asia, they are — as the structure of the Vinamilk deal suggests — often the cake.

而在亞洲，正如Vinamilk交易的結構所示，這些收入往往就是蛋糕。

This partly reflects the fact that few banks will still accept loss-leading work in the hope of a payout down the line, as they once did — and certainly none will admit it.

這部分反映出已經沒有幾家銀行仍願意接受虧本業務，以期未來會獲得鉅額回報，正如許多銀行曾經做的那樣——當然沒有一家會承認這點。

Rather, they have learnt to box clever and find other ways of covering costs, such as brokerage fees.

相反，銀行學會了聰明地做業務，找到彌補成本的其他途徑，比如經紀費。

Morgan Stanley’s willingness to do this helped it snatch a deal from Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse two years ago; its loans to an investor helped it steal a $4.7bn private placement for Ping An, the insurer, at the eleventh hour.

摩根士丹利願意聰明地做業務的態度，幫助它在兩年前從高盛(Goldman Sachs)和瑞信(Credit Suisse)手中搶走了一筆交易：摩根士丹利向一個投資者發放的貸款，幫助它在最後一刻偷走了保險公司中國平安(Ping An)一筆價值47億美元的定向增發交易。

And costs need covering.

成本也的確需要彌補。

Even as Asia produces record investment banking fees — up 15 per cent this year compared with a one-fifth drop in the US, according to Thomson Reuters — the total pool is still small.

儘管亞洲產生了創紀錄的投行費用——根據湯森路透(Thomson Reuters)的數據，今年亞洲的投行費用收入增長了15%，相比之下美國下滑了五分之一——但總值仍然較小。

Asia has produced 17 per cent of the global investment bank fees pool this year while the US accounts for nearly half.

今年，全球投行在亞洲獲得的費用收入佔總額的17%，而在美國獲得的金額佔了將近一半。

It’s fair to say the Asian growth story didn’t play out in certain ways where we needed it to, says one long-time dealmaker, in reference to the period since 2010, which marked the last aggressive push by western banks.

平心而論，亞洲增長故事並沒有按我們所需要的方式展開，一名資深交易撮合者表示，他指的是自2010年以來的這段時期，也就是西方銀行最近一次對亞洲發起攻勢的時期。

Staffing levels are certainly under threat.

員工數量肯定在面臨威脅。

Goldman cut 15 per cent of its investment banking force and had considering axing up to 30 per cent.

高盛已裁減15%的投行員工，而且曾考慮最多裁員30%。

Rivals see it as the bank reducing its workforce to match their own staffing levels, not a retreat per se.

該行的競爭對手認爲它裁員是爲了將員工數量減至對手銀行的水平，而不是真正的撤退。

But even those rivals talk at best about selective hiring and many bankers say privately they are bracing for cuts.

然而，即便是那些競爭對手談論的也至多是選擇性招聘，很多銀行業者私下表示，他們對裁員有心理準備。

For the banks, Asia’s low fees and market fragmentation are hard to change.

對於這些銀行而言，亞洲的低費率和市場分散狀況很難改變。

Banks need locally based teams in each market they want to target and there is little crossover, say, between a team in Seoul and one in Shanghai.

銀行需要在每個它們希望瞄準的市場建立本地化團隊，不同地區的團隊（例如首爾的團隊和上海的團隊）之間幾乎沒有交叉。

That carries high fixed costs.

這帶來了高額的固定成本。

Fee structures show little sign of movement.

費用結構幾乎沒有改變的跡象。

In Asia, equity capital raisings reliably account for the biggest single pool of work for the international banks, producing on average 40 per cent of their total fee pool.

在亞洲，股票融資穩居投行的第一大業務，平均佔到總費用收入的40%。

But even in Hong Kong, which has topped the global initial public offering rankings for five of the past eight years, fees are just between 1 per cent and 3 per cent of a deal, compared with between 5 per cent and 7 per cent in New York.

然而即便在過去8年有5年奪得全球首次公開發行(IPO)冠軍的香港，費率也只有交易額的1%至3%，而紐約則有5%至7%。

Equity fees have also been overtaken by those from debt deals this year — a factor unlikely to cheer the bigger banks that have invested less in building bond desks as they seek big IPO payouts.

今年，來自債券交易的費用收入已超過股票交易，這一因素不太可能鼓舞較大銀行，它們對債券交易部門的投入較少，因爲它們希望從IPO中賺取大筆費用。

That leaves China’s M&A boom as the region’s bright spot.

這令中國的併購熱潮成爲該地區的亮點。

Fees are nowhere near the levels on western deals but some bankers believe they are, in fact, rising.

亞洲交易的費用水平遠不及西方交易，但一些銀行業者相信，亞洲的費用水平事實上正在上漲。

They are realising there are things we can do that they can’t do on their own, says one bank’s regional head for dealmaking.

他們漸漸意識到，有些我們能做到的事情是他們靠自己無法完成的，一家銀行的交易撮合區域主管表示，

Sometimes we’re seeing US-level fees and sometimes lower — but the trend is up.

有時，我們看到費用水平跟美國相當，有時比美國低——但趨勢是上升的。

In a region where banks are prepared to assign top teams to a project for $25,000 plus the expectation of brokerage fees, optimism, anywhere, is welcomed.

在這個銀行願意爲了2.5萬美元的酬勞外加有望獲得的經紀費，就將最優秀的團隊投入一個項目的地區，無論在哪裏，樂觀都是受歡迎的。

One Asia hand not on the Vinamilk deal sighed: Vietnam won’t be the first government to ask for something for no money — and it won’t be the last.

一名未能參與Vinamilk交易的亞洲投行員工嘆息道：越南不會是第一個要求免費服務的政府，它也不會是最後一個。