As activity shifts beyond Europe and the US, Asia's economic importance is underscored by the rise of bankers in this region to global positions. The announcement by Citi this week on the appointment of Will McLane to become the vice-chairman of the global financial institution group (FIG) is the latest example of that continuing trend.

McLane, who is going to also chair the global FIG M&A Council, followed the recent promotions of Jan Metzger to global co-head the bank's technology practice while remaining as head of the region's corporate and investment banking. Another banker, Colin Banfield, who is heading M&A in Asia is also global co-head of cross-border M&A.

McLane joined Citi six years ago and most recently was the head of strategic industries and FIG for the Asia-Pacific. His expertise, however, is his deep knowledge of Asia's FIG industry having spent a good 15 years previously with Morgan Stanley also covering FIG. During his stint at the investment bank, McLane was adviser to a number of notable M&A deals for which Morgan Stanley enjoyed the title of The Asset Triple A Best FIG adviser for several years running.

He will continue to lead management of Citi's Asia-Pacific FIG franchise including key client coverage and intensifying the focus on Australia and fintech. Meanwhile, Citi has appointed Simon Yuan as head of Asia Pacific FIG investment banking. He joined Citi three years ago as head of China FIG investment banking. Before that he was co-head of Asia FIG at Credit Suisse.