HSBC to Shed over 500 Jobs in Cost-Cutting Drive

HSBC Holdings Plc is preparing to ax hundreds of investment banking jobs, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg on Thursday.

The British bank, which is conducting a cost-cutting drive aimed at protecting its dividend, would target 500 jobs within global banking and markets staff. Those affected have not been informed yet, the source said.

The cuts follow several months of performance reviews and planning for 2019 by Greg Guyett, head of global banking and markets division, which houses HSBC’s trading and investment banking businesses. The report said Guyett “will be pushing through cuts in his part of the business,” after the business missed a full-year target to achieve an increase in revenues.

In a statement, HSBC spokeswoman, said: “Business and function lines constantly re-evaluate their needs to ensure they have the right roles in the right locations."

The source, who declined to be named, said HSBC’s senior managers have already identified where they can make potential savings including job reductions, which are expected to begin as early as next month and will continue over the year.

The cuts follow a turbulent period for HSBC where CEO rebuked top managers earlier this year for missing revenue and cost targets. The investment bank, which gets most of its business in Asia, also suffered an exodus of high-profile executives after the meltdown hit the business in financial markets, which put further pressure on the CEO to rein in costs.

The latest cuts extend Chief Executive John Flint’s plan, dubbed ‘Project Oak,’ which he unveiled last year to hike return on equity to above 11 percent next year from 6.8 percent in 2017.

Flint said HSBC would focus on making revenues grow faster than costs through being more focused on its traditional strengths of corporate and retail banking.