HONG KONG, Jan 27 (Reuters) - CLSA and Credit-Suisse shared top ranking in terms of market share in 2010 among brokers trading Asian equities with institutions in the region, according to a survey by Greenwich Associates.
The study, based on interviews with fund managers and buyside trading desks, showed the two brokers together carried out just under a fifth of regional equity trading with institutions in Asia-Pacific.
CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, a Hong Kong-based brokerage firm majority owned by France's Credit Agricole SA, and Credit Suisse Group AG led a group of "bulge-bracket" firms that dominated institutional trading in the region, said Greenwich.
Close behind the two were Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JP Morgan Chase & Co and UBS AG. The seven firms had a near 60 percent share of the regional equity trading business in 2010, the survey showed.
Deutsche Bank topped Greenwich's list for Asian flow equity derivatives trading.
The dominant positions of the top firms and the marginal rise in the pool of commission paid by institutional investors to brokers compared with 2009 presented a challenge for new players seeking to ramp up their equities business in Asia.
Barclay's Plc is among global banks looking to capture market share from established players, along with others such as Daiwa Securities Group Inc, Samsung Securities Co Ltd and Jefferies Group Inc.
While 2010 was a challenging year for brokers building out their presence in Asian markets, growth trends in Asia remained positive and would likely offer some solace, said Greenwich.
"The Asian equity commission pool has more than doubled over the past five years, making it one of the fastest growing markets in the world," said Greenwich Associates consultant John Feng in a statement. (Reporting by Vikram S.Subhedar; Editing by Chris Lewis)