Several senior loan bankers at Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking (SMBC) have left their roles in Asia, amid a slump in lending across the region that¡¯s already prompted departures at other firms in recent months.
Kong Chiu Tham, head of Asia syndicated finance for South and Southeast Asia at Mizuho, and Fiona Tan, an executive director in the same unit, have departed, according to people familiar with the matter. At SMBC, Aaron Chow, managing director of loan capital markets for Asia Pacific, has resigned and is serving his gardening leave, other people familiar with the matter said.
Asia¡¯s offshore loan market has been weighed down by elevated dollar interest rates, geopolitical risks and heightened competition among global lenders as deal flow dwindles. The volume of facilities in dollars, euros and yen, excluding bilateral deals, fell 12% in 2025 to a two?year low of $166 billion for the region outside Japan, according to compiled data.
Other foreign lenders in the region have also seen departures from their loan financing teams. In July, Christina Chan, regional head of loan sales and head of corporate loan syndicate for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas, left the bank. HSBC Holdings¡¯ co-head of leveraged and acquisition finance for Asia Pacific, Rachel Watson, stepped down last year.
Hong Kong-based Chow joined SMBC in 2019, it was reported at that time. He previously worked at banks including UBS Group, HSBC and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (Asia). Singapore-based Tham has been at Mizuho for more than 12 years, and has held various positions at other institutions, including Deutsche Bank, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and Oversea-Chinese Banking, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Chow, Tham, representatives for Mizuho in Japan and SMBC in Singapore declined to comment, while Tan didn¡¯t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mizuho¡¯s top executives have announced plans to expand the bank¡¯s corporate and institutional banking business in Europe and Asia. CEO Masahiro Kihara said last month the bank will pursue growth by securing business related to merger and acquisition advisory, while providing financing and risk hedging products.
SMBC, meanwhile, has been shifting toward structured deals that command higher fees as loan demand softens. The bank saw several senior members of its Asia loans team exit last year and has been hiring former Credit Suisse bankers as it expands into private credit and structured debt.
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