HSBC axes 40 dealmakers in Hong Kong as part of revamp to cut costs, source says

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By Selena Li and Scott Murdoch

HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Reuters) - HSBC has laid off around 40 investment bankers in Hong Kong, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, as part of a global restructuring exercise at the Asia-focused lender to cut costs.

The job cuts in its regional hub Hong Kong started on Monday, said the person and another source with knowledge of the matter, and comes ahead of the London-headquartered bank releasing its full-year results on Wednesday.

At least four managing directors were let go, with three of them based in Hong Kong and one in Singapore, said one of the sources, who declined to be named as the job cuts at the bank were not public.

The most-impacted investment banking sectors are consumer, resources and energy, as well as mergers and acquisitions, each of which let go around five bankers, according to the source.

About four dealmakers each were made redundant at the technology, media and telecommunications division and financial institutions group, while the healthcare and Hong Kong coverage teams also saw a couple of cuts, the source said.

HSBC declined to comment on the latest round of job cuts in Hong Kong. IFR first reported the layoffs on Monday.

Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC were up 1.7% on Tuesday, underperforming a 2.1% gain in the benchmark Hang Seng index. The shares hit an 11-1/2 year high earlier on Tuesday.

The investment banking job cuts also come after HSBC last month announced plans to wind down its mergers and acquisitions and some equities businesses in Europe and the Americas in a bid to boost returns.

HSBC's latest restructuring is being led by its CEO Georges Elhedery, who took the helm in September. He has been taking steps to boost returns and tighten the bank's focus on Asia, where it earns the bulk of its profit.

As part of the overhaul, the bank said in October that it would combine some of its commercial and investment banking businesses and had installed a new leadership structure.

It also planned to carve up its operations into four business lines, namely UK, Hong Kong, corporate and institutional banking, and wealth banking.

(Reporting by Selena Li in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Sonali Paul)