HSBC Cuts Dozens of Analysts Amid Deepening Restructure

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00:00Bloomberg has learned that HSBC has cut more than two dozen analysts in recent days as Europe's

00:05largest lender deepens a restructuring of its investment banking businesses. Sources say that

00:10the cuts mostly in Europe include the departure of Stephen Major, global head of fixed income

00:15research. For more, Bloomberg's Steve Ahrens joins us now. So what's happening here, Stephen? What's

00:21the driver? Well, as you said, there's a restructuring going on. There's a new CEO who

00:28came in last year. He's trying to cut costs. And so job cuts are clearly part of that cost-cutting

00:35drive. Even though the roles, we're talking about a few dozen here, it's not a huge number. Remember,

00:41HSBC is a vast bank. But as you also said, it involves some fairly senior people and clearly

00:47shows that he's taken the new CEO has taken, you know, a very harsh approach to his cost costs.

00:53But why now, Stephen? This has been a dynamic that's been in play for quite some time. Why now?

01:02You know, the new CEO came in in September. He unveiled a sort of new strategy involving an

01:09efficiency drive in October and has since then repeatedly involved new measures, including so

01:15investment banking cuts earlier this year, also targeting Europe. So it's a continuation of that

01:21drive that focuses on sort of streamlining HSBC's presence in Europe, focusing it more on Asia.

01:30And this is clearly a part of it. As you said, the roles, most of the roles that are to go

01:34will go in Europe. And so he's taken step after step to achieve his goal.