HSBC to wind down parts of investment banking units in UK, Europe and US

HSBC is to shut down parts of its investment banking operations in the UK, Europe and the Americas as bosses continue their overhaul of the banking giant.

Georges Elhedery has overseen a significant shake-up of the London-based firm since taking over as chief executive last September.

The company told staff in a memo on Tuesday morning that it will wind down its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory and equity capital markets services outside of Asia and the Middle East.

It has not disclosed how many workers will be affected by the changes.

The lender said it will start holding talks with clients in the coming days about shutting down these operations and will finish current deals.

In the memo, the company added that its “intention is to move to a more competitive, scalable, financing-led model”.

The bank will maintain its other operations in western markets.

Its latest financial results showed that its global investment banking operations represented 6% of total revenues for the latest half-year.

An HSBC spokesman said: “As part of our ongoing efforts to simplify HSBC and increase leadership in our areas of strength, we are finalising a review of our investment banking business.

“We will retain more focused M&A and equity capital markets capabilities in Asia and the Middle East and will begin to wind down our M&A and equity capital markets activities in the UK, Europe, and the US, subject to local legal requirements.”

It comes days after HSBC confirmed plans to shut down its global payments app Zing a year after launch, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

Zing was launched in the UK in January 2024 for people to hold funds in different currencies, send money internationally, or spend in the UK and abroad through an app and a multi-currency debit card.

The closure is understood to be putting up to about 400 jobs at risk, including a significant number of non-HSBC staff contracted for customer support roles.