Western financial institutions in China have cut their investment banking workforce by the most in years after a market slowdown hit profits and halted years of expansion in the country. The cuts in 2023 came as five of the seven Chinese securities units that are part of Wall Street and European banks either made a loss or reported tumbling profits, according to recently released annual reports. The seven units employed 1,781 people last year, a fall of 13 per cent from 2022.
UBS agreed to sell the unit to a state-backed fund this month. Staffing numbers at UBS’s own mainland unit held steady at 383, the only one not to reduce headcount last year. Morgan Stanley’s China unit recorded a loss for the first time since 2019, while at JPMorgan’s venture in the country, profits fell 55 per cent to Rmb119mn . Morgan Stanley’s unit said in its annual report that the environment had been “challenging”.