HSBC (0005) has started a new round of job cuts at its Asia investment bank amid a slump in dealmaking across the region, according to people familiar with the matter.
The London-based lender cut around a dozen bankers across its investment banking division in Asia yesterday, one of the people said.
HSBC joins global rivals including UBS, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup that have already made several rounds of job cuts in Asia over the past 18 months as stock sales and mergers tumble. Deal flow in Hong Kong and China, HSBC's core markets, is especially sluggish.
Initial public offerings have been depressed in Hong Kong, with proceeds slumping its the lowest in more than two decades last year. The money raised from IPOs fell another 29 percent in the first quarter to about US$605 million (HK$4.7 billion), the worst three-month period since the global financial crisis.
