ABN Amro, the Dutch group whose investment bank was acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland last year, has lost a raft of senior M&A specialists in emerging markets to rival Barclays.

Jitesh Gadhia, picked out by onlookers as a key fee-earning star ABN would be loathe to loose, is moving from the bank to become global head of advisory at Barclays. Mr Gadhia was an architect of the acquisition of Novelis, the Canadian aluminium-sheet maker, last year by Hindalco, the India-based metals producer, for $6 billion. The deal is India's second largest cross-border takeover to date.

Those leaving ABN also include Frank Hancock, the veteran India-based M&A specialist who advised on Tata's £4.3 billion acquisition of Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, in 2006 – the largest takeover of a foreign company by an Indian group so far. Mr Hancock will be head of advisory in India for Barclays, based in Bombay.

The moves come as investment banks look to India and the rest of Asia to offset a drought deal in the West. Indian firms completed deals worth a record $31.4 billion (£16.26 billion) in 2007, compared to $7.3 billion the previous year. Activity has slowed this year – Indian firms have announced deals worth $6.8 billion so far in 2008, down 39 per cent from the same period last year – but the territory still remains an avowed priority for groups such as Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.

Barclays also hired Jason Rynbeck, who was head of mergers and acquisitions for Asia at ABN Amro. Mr Rynbeck will head Barclays' advisory business for Asia-Pacific from Hong Kong.

Marc Holtzman, formerly vice chairman at ABN, will become vice chairman of investment banking at Barclays. Simon Hargreaves, who was head of M&A for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at ABN will take on the same role at Barclays.

Barclays is due to give a trading update tomorrow, from which investors will seek clarification on whether the bank will follow RBS and HBOS in announcing a need to raise fresh capital.

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