Barclays' Asia investment bank head steps down amid global shake-up

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Barclays' top investment banker in Asia Pacific has stepped down from his post, the bank said on Thursday, the latest in a raft of regional management changes at the British lender as it shrinks its investment bank globally.

Matthew Ginsburg is the most senior banker to leave Barclays Asia Pacific this month as the lender scaled back its investment banking business to focus instead on U.S. and British clients as well as advising on deals and selling products such as government bonds.

Ginsburg, who is considering jobs at Barclays outside Asia, will be replaced in the interim by Andrew Jones, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Jones was named co-chief executive for Asia Pacific alongside Eiji Nakai on May 2.

A spokesman for Barclays declined to comment.

Barclays had hired Ginsburg from Morgan Stanley in 2009 as it expanded its investment banking business in the region after the financial crisis. His exit comes a few days after top dealmaker Jason Rynbeck, who joined Barclays in 2008 from Royal Bank of Scotland Group , left.

Marc Benton, Barclays' head of oil and gas coverage, also left last month, according to a filing with Hong Kong's Securities regulator.

Robert Morrice, the British bank's chairman and CEO for Asia Pacific and who oversaw that expansion in the region, retired from Barclays earlier this month.

Barclays has also seen a series of high profile departures in the United States, including Hugh 'Skip' McGee, the head of its Americas business.

Barclays has enjoyed mixed fortunes in building its business in Asia Pacific since Ginsburg and other senior hires were brought on in 2009.

In debt capital markets, its traditional strength, it has performed well, finishing sixth last year in Asia pacific bond underwriting, according to Thomson Reuters data.

But the lender has not succeeded as well in other areas, such as advising on stock offerings. Barclays only figured once among the top 25 equity underwriters in Asia Pacific in the past five years, ranking 15th in 2012, according to Thomson Reuters data.

(Reporting by Lawrence White, additional reporting by Elzio Barreto and Umesh Desai; Editing by Miral Fahmy)