HSBC's pre-bonus equities job cuts are fine news for the survivors

HSBC's bonus day is nearly upon us. If you work for the bank and have had a good year, you may expect to be paid. Unfortunately, though, HSBC is continuing with its new and ruthless habit of cutting people before bonuses are actually announced. 

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The latest people to feel the blade are senior figures in the bank's equities sales and trading business. Bloomberg reports that James Grafton, HSBC's global head of cash equities trading and Steve Jobber, its head of cash equities trading for EMEA, are both leaving. Bonuses are announced tomorrow.

Neither Grafton nor Jobber responded to a request to comment for this article. HSBC said it doesn't comment on individuals, but added: "We’re committed to attracting and retaining talent as part of HSBC’s high-performance culture.” 

The tacit implication, then, is that Grafton and Jobber might not have fitted HSBC's "high performance culture." However, insiders at the bank say this wasn't so. Instead, we understand that HSBC's cash equities business had an exceptional year, particularly in Europe, where ambitious targets were exceeded by 10%.

Why, then, were Grafton and Jobber let go? As is often the case, the suspicion is that HSBC might be cutting senior people to make the bonus pool go further. The bank's global cash equities business is run by Ed Duggan, who joined from JPMorgan in 2018. With the expensive figures of Grafton and Jobber gone without bonuses, Duggan will now have more money to distribute between the other members of his team. 

This may be great news for HSBC equities loyalists, but Grafton and Jobber's exits also suggest more change for a business that has already plenty of that in recent years. Rob Crane, the former EMEA head of equities left in July 2024. Grafton himself joined from Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong in 2018 and moved to London in 2021. Jobber joined two years later, seemingly hired by Grafton. He was part of a coterie of nine ex-Credit Suisse equities traders hired by HSBC in 2023.

Grafton and Jobber's disappearances come after HSBC's Hong Kong equities professionals complained last year that the business seemed to be run almost entirely from London. HSBC cut its equity capital markets business (ECM) in the UK and the US early last year during its surprise pivot to Asia and the Middle East. Its Asian equities professionals had expected a higher profile as a result. However, HSBC has since failed to win a role on key IPOs, including CK Hutchison's $2bn dual listing in London and Hong Kong, and it's thought the lack of a London ECM business might be to blame.

In the wake of Grafton and Jobber's exits, HSBC's EMEA equities trading business will be closely scrutinised for signs of weakness. Most of the research team were cut last year. Duggan is thought to be building out the electronic trading platform with the help of people like Fabio Martinelli, who also joined in 2018 from Virtu. However, Jobber - who ran a successful event driven book - is thought to have been a key point of contact for the hedge fund clients that are critical for cash equities businesses to thrive. Unfortunately, he's not there any more.

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