By Paul Clarke

Of Financial News


HSBC is set to add 200 dealmakers to its ranks as the U.K. lender presses ahead with an expansion of its investment bank even as some rivals continue to make job cuts.

The bank will look to add more investment bankers over the next two years as it enters its "next growth phase" for the unit, Greg Guyett, HSBC's chief executive of global banking and markets, told Financial News in a wide-ranging interview.

"If I look at the next couple of years, we're entering the next growth period for our investment banking strategy," he said. "That's focused on deepening our penetration in Asia, particularly in south and southeast Asia where we've had a lighter footprint, in India and of course, in the Middle East, where we're already the leader."

Guyett said the bank would look to add "a couple of hundred" people across its investment banking and infrastructure finance divisions over the next two years. Some of these will be juniors, subject matter experts or be redeployed from other parts of the bank, he added, but it will also hire senior dealmakers.

"I've been very clear that we're going to stay consistent in our investment in investment banking," added Guyett. "You haven't seen any stories about HSBC cutting or reducing staff. We've maintained staff. In fact, we've taken the opportunity in Asia as our competitors--particularly the Americans--have reduced their footprint to hire some great people."

HSBC topped the Emea IPO rankings last year thanks to securing roles on all major listings in the Middle East, according to data provider Dealogic. In the Middle East, it ranked third by investment banking revenue overall with $52 million in 2023, the numbers show.

Investment banking fees have slumped over the past two years as rising interest rates and macro shocks including Russia's invasion of Ukraine put the brakes activity after a record 12 months in 2021, when banks hauled in $130 billion.

Wall Street banks responded to the drought by cutting tens of thousands of jobs, with Goldman Sachs Group's 3,000 redundancies in January 2023 setting the tone for the remainder of the year when Citigroup and Morgan Stanley also cut back.

In 2024, some banks have continued to cut jobs. Citigroup is stripping out an additional 20 London-based bankers, FN reported, as it continues to cull employees through its ongoing overhaul called Project Bora Bora. Barclays is preparing to axe hundreds more jobs across its investment bank as part of a fresh wave of cost-cutting, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank is also set to cut 3,500 more roles, although these will largely be focused on back office positions.

HSBC hired former JPMorgan banker Karim Tannir to bolster its Middle East dealmaking team in November, while Alex Hong joined from Evercore in August to boost its Singapore dealmaking team. It also hired Chloe Ponsonby and Alina Vaskina to bolster its UK corporate broking team in July.

Financial News is owned by News Corp, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.


Website: www.fnlondon.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-21-24 0536ET