Citigroup Inc. has hired Matthew Mrozinski as head of real-estate banking for the Asian-Pacific region, a position created as part of the U.S. bank's expansion there.
Mrozinski was part of Deutsche Bank AG's Asian real-estate business. At Citigroup, he will coordinate a team of five around the region excluding Japan.
Real estate-related deal-making across Asia has picked up, according to data provider Dealogic. The volume of mergers and acquisitions in the sector at $23.1 billion as well as debt issuance at $7.4 billion so far this year in the region is higher than the same period in 2009, but equity volumes at $3.4 billion have slipped slightly from a year earlier.
Among Citigroup's recent real estate advisory roles were helping Chinese property developers Fantasia Holdings Group and Kaisa Group Holdings issue bonds.
Also joining Citigroup is merger and acquisitions banker Douglas Farrell. Farrell was previously at Nomura Holdings Inc. He will report to Colin Banfield, Citigroup's head of M&A in the Asian-Pacific region including Japan, who also recently joined from Nomura.
"We are committed to building and strengthening our franchise in Asia Pac by adding additional high-quality talent across the region to support our own growth and expansion," said Farhan Faruqui, Citigroup's head of global banking Asia Pacific.
Outside North America, the Asian-Pacific region was the largest contributor to Citigroup's net income in the first quarter of 2010.
