BofA, Citigroup trim investing banking headcount in Asia -sources

Selena Li and Kane Wu

HONG KONG (Reuters] -Bank of America & Citigroup cut investment banking jobs in Asia. According to people who know the situation, they joined global peers in reducing headcount, as China dealmaking slows.

According to two sources, Bank of America, which is reducing its international investment banking business, eliminated about half of the Hong Kong-based jobs.

According to them, among the people laid off were David Lam, who was a managing Director in BofA’s Greater China equity markets team and Kevin Yang. Yang is a managing Director in BofA’s China investment banking group.

Lam said that he was stepping down when Reuters reached him. Kevin Yang couldn’t be reached by Reuters for comment Saturday.

One person and another said that Citi cut four positions from its China Investment Banking team on Thursday. The Wall Street bank is laying off less than 1% of its workforce globally, people familiar with the matter have said.

Both Citi and BofA declined to comment about layoffs in Asia involving investment bankers. Sources were not authorized to talk to the media. They declined to name.

We are unable to immediately determine how many of these remaining China-focused banks’ investment bankers.

Following record deals in 2021 and last year’s stock floats, M&A volumes worldwide plummeted as volatility in capital markets combined with geopolitical tensions caused global stock market volume and M&A volumes to fall.

China deals were especially hard hit by the harsh COVID-19 restrictions, which were lifted late in the year.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are other banks that have reduced Asia headcount.

According to two sources, JPMorgan cut about 20 positions in its investment banking division. These were mainly bankers at the mid-level who focused on China transactions. Bloomberg reported Feb. 21 that 30 Asia bankers were being laid off by the bank.

“We regularly review our business needs and a small number of employees across Asia Pacific have been affected,” A spokesperson for JPMorgan declined to speak on behalf of the company and did not comment on how many layoffs had been made or which teams were affected.

Sources have reported that Nomura Holdings Inc cut 18 jobs in the Asian banking industry, with most of these roles being investment banking positions in China.

Reporting by Selena Li and Kane Wu; Editing done by Sumeet Chanterjee and Edwina gibbs