UBS reshuffles Japan operation as deals dry up

TOKYO May 20 (Reuters) - UBS AG (UBSN.VX) has shuffled its capital markets teams in Japan as the firm has handled no equity transactions this year.

The teams that handled equity and debt underwriting were merged with a group that focused on mezzanine finance, hybrid and preferred securities, said Jackie Kestenbaum, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman for UBS.

The move is in parallel with a change made in Britain, where UBS has also combined equity capital markets and debt capital markets operations. The firm this month named Roberto Isolani and Matthew Koder to run the new group. [nL1485891].

UBS unveiled its plan to combine the primary and derivative business into a single capital markets division in January as part of a shakeup of its investment banking business after suffering heavy subprime-related losses.

UBS also said in May it would cut 5,500 jobs and sell billions of dollars worth of ailing assets in a bid to break free from the subprime crisis.

The new team in Japan, called its global capital markets team, is co-led by Shoji Tsuboyama and Nicholas Ross, Kestenbaum said. Tsuboyama was head of the firm's strategic solutions group, which focused on mezzanine financing, hybrid and preferred securities. Ross was head of debt capital markets in Japan and co-head of Asia-Pacific debt capital markets.

The crisis in the subprime mortgage market, which pushed down global share prices, also affected UBS's business in Japan.

UBS has not handled any equity or equity-related transactions this year, while it was ranked No.9 bank for arranging one transaction in the same period, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Japanese companies have raised $5.2 billion through equity and equity-linked financing so far this year, less than half what they raised in the same period last year, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

On the other side, UBS climbed to become top bank for advising on mergers and acquisitions in Japan so far this year, ahead of Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T). UBS was the 11th adviser in the same period a year ago, Thomson Reuters data shows.

Sutha Kandiah, who was its head of Japan equity capital markets, will become joint head of equity capital markets for Asia and co-head of investment banking for Singapore and Malaysia, Kestenbaum said. Kandiah will move to Singapore. (Editing by Michael Watson)