HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley has named Kate Richdale as the sole head of investment banking for Asia-Pacific, in a shake-up that elevates her further as one of the most powerful female bankers in the region.
In moves announced in an internal memo late on Monday, Gokul Laroia, the other co-head of investment banking, was charged with running the Asian equity division, including Japan, a division that typically represents about two thirds of revenue for investment banks in the region.
Laroia will replace David Russell, who is relocating to London to run European equities, according to an internal memo.
Among other changes, Morgan Stanley named Ted Pick as the sole global head of equities, leaving the other co-head Luc Francois to expand the company's equity derivatives business. Luc, Russell and Laroia will report to Pick.
A Morgan Stanley spokesman confirmed the contents of the memo.
Richdale's move comes close on the heels of Nomura Holding Inc's decision to promote Junko Nakagawa as its first female chief financial officer.
The higher echelons of the investment banking business are still dominated by men and it is rare for female bankers to head departments in Asia.
Other female bankers who have risen to the top in the region include Wei Christianson, Morgan Stanley's China chief executive, and Kalpana Desai, Macquarie Group Ltd's head of Asian investment banking operations.
Richdale had her early grounding in debt capital markets before becoming chief executive of Morgan Stanley's Southeast Asian business in 2008. She was promoted to co-head of investment banking in 2009.
Morgan Stanley has led the Asian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) league tables for the past two years, according to Thomson Reuters data. In equity capital markets, the firm trailed behind Goldman Sachs Group Inc last year.
In cash equities trading, Morgan Stanley was third behind CLSA and Credit Suisse Group AG last year in terms of market share in Asia, according to data compiler Greenwich Associates. (Reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by Chris Lewis)