After firms bulked up with expensive hires during the frenetic pandemic period when mergers and stock offerings took off, equity capital markets desks are bracing for a wave of job cuts amid a collapse in deal flow, according to people familiar with the matter at banks on both sides of the Atlantic. M&A and leveraged finance jobs are also at risk, the people said.
Executives across a range of firms — including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and UBS Group AG — have held early discussions on whether they’re overstaffed for the activity expected over the next year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because no decisions on whether to cut jobs have been made. A round of dismissals industry-wide is expected after the summer unless an unlikely September surge in activity arrives, the people said.
Citigroup chief executive Jane Fraser said her firm wouldn’t overreact to a slow period as it’s been hiring “some very strong bankers” to take business from rivals.