HSBC has cut about 10 per cent of its US-based debt capital markets team as part of an ongoing cost-cutting drive and broader restructuring announced in October 2024, according to media reports.
At least six staff in New York were laid off on Thursday, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Those affected included a managing director, two directors, two associates and an analyst.
Europe’s largest lender by assets, and one of Hong Kong’s biggest banks, unveiled a sweeping overhaul in October, 2024, after Georges Elhedery formally took over as group CEO from Noel Quinn.
The bank said at the time it would streamline its structure to focus on core markets such as the UK and Hong Kong, while prioritising corporate and institutional banking as well as its wealth and premier banking businesses.
In February last year, HSBC said it aimed to cut US$1.5 billion in annual costs by the end of 2026, including an 8 per cent reduction in personnel expenses.
As part of the restructuring, the bank has sold its private banking business in Germany and an insurance unit in France, as well as exited investment banking operations in Europe and the US.