HSBC cuts 10% of US debt capital markets team

HSBC has laid off about 10% of its U.S. debt capital markets (DCM) team as part of a broader cost-cutting and strategic overhaul focused on simplifying the bank and shifting resources toward Asia and the Middle East.

What happened

• Roughly 10% of the U.S.-based DCM team has been cut.

• The cuts affected at least six New York employees: one managing director, two directors, two associates, and one analyst.

• HSBC declined to comment on individuals but said it remains committed to retaining talent and highlighted the progress of its DCM franchise.

Context inside HSBC

• CEO Georges Elhedery launched a cost program targeting an 8% reduction in employee costs and about US$1.8 billion in savings, announced in 2025.

• Since taking over in 2024, he has merged commercial banking with investment banking and carved out the UK and Hong Kong operations as standalone units.

• HSBC has already scaled back M&A and equity capital markets activities in the US, UK, and Europe to concentrate investment banking resources in Asia and the Middle East.

Why it matters for DCM and markets

• Despite cuts, HSBC has remained a top‑10 underwriter of U.S. corporate debt over the last three years, suggesting it is trimming headcount rather than exiting DCM.​

• The move fits a pattern of European banks streamlining Western investment banking franchises while emphasizing fee pools in faster‑growing or strategically core regions (Asia/Middle East in HSBC’s case).

• For talent, it signals higher risk in non-core product/region combinations at HSBC (e.g., U.S. IB products outside the Asia/Middle East focus), while DCM still appears more protected than ECM/M&A but not immune.