HSBC cuts equities team in Germany as CEO Elhedery continues revamp
The London-headquartered lender is preparing to cut equities sales and trading jobs in the Dusseldorf office, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move is part of chief executive officer Georges Elhedery's effort to revamp the investment bank, the sources said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
Europe's largest financial institution has already culled dozens of analysts in its investment bank in the last couple of months and it has shut down its US, UK and European equity capital markets and M&A units.
'Equities sales and trading supports the growth of our Prime and Wealth businesses, facilitates equities distribution to the market and supports our global clients investing in equities in both developed markets and emerging markets,' an HSBC spokesperson said in response to questions about the cuts at the German unit.
Since taking over as CEO last September, Elhedery has instituted a widespread overhaul of the bank that has involved creating four new divisions under what he has called his 'simplification' plan. He has also combined HSBC's commercial and investment banking units, while making operations in the UK and Hong Kong standalone businesses. BLOOMBERG
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
EU Commission discusses curbs on Israel research funding amid Gaza pressure
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Palestinians gather at the site of an overnight Israeli air strike on a house, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo BRUSSELS - European Commissioners will on Monday discuss a proposal to partially suspend Israel's access to the EU's Horizon research funding program following calls from EU governments to increase pressure on Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Multiple EU countries said last week that Israel was not living up to its commitments under an agreement with the European Union on increasing aid supplies to Gaza and asked the Commission to put concrete options on the table. The proposal was mentioned in a published agenda of Monday's meeting of the College of Commissioners, the top decision-making body of the European Union's executive. But the Commission has not explained it in detail. EU and Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the proposal. Israel has been participating in the EU's research programs since 1996, taking part in thousands of joint research projects over the past decades. Earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Israel had agreed to expand humanitarian access to Gaza, including increasing the number of aid trucks, crossing points and routes to distribution hubs. But in a tense meeting of European ambassadors in Brussels last week, countries including France, the Netherlands and Spain said not enough was being done, according to diplomats. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Thailand, Cambodia agree to 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire' to de-escalate border row Asia Gunman kills 5 near Bangkok's Chatuchak market before taking own life Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole: BCA to conduct independent probe, act against any non-compliance Singapore Foreign workers who rescued woman from sinkhole given tokens of appreciation Singapore COE quota up 2.6% to 18,701 for August-October period Business SIA's first-quarter profits fall by 59%; airline group sees volatile times ahead Singapore Ong Beng Seng set to plead guilty on Aug 4 in case linked to ex-transport minister Iswaran Singapore Jail for former pre-school teacher who tripped toddler repeatedly, causing child to bleed from nose Earlier this month, EU officials presented a list of options that the bloc could pursue to put pressure on Israel but the bloc has so far refrained from pursuing any of them. Israel on Sunday announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors, while Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have airdropped supplies into the enclave. But officials and aid groups remain concerned and say much more needs to be done to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. REUTERS
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
BYD's car registrations up 80 per cent with almost one-fifth of the Singapore market in H1 2025
[SINGAPORE] Electric vehicle (EV) focused China brand BYD has topped new car registrations in Singapore with 4,667 cars in the first half of 2025, indicated Land Transport Authority figures released on Monday (Jul 28). This is an 80.4 per cent increase over the 2,587 units the brand registered in H1 2024. BYD increased its market share as it made up 19.5 per cent of the total 23,957 registrations in H1 2025, up from 13.9 per cent in the previous corresponding period. Mainstream Japanese brand Toyota was in second place with 3,461 registrations, an increase of 9.4 per cent from 3,165 in the previous corresponding period, while its market share increased to 14.4 per cent from 13.9 per cent. BYD is now the clear leader in Singapore's new passenger car market. In 2024, Toyota registered the most cars with 7,876 compared to BYD's 6,191. But discounting parallel imports, Toyota's authorised distributor sales were 5,736, making it second by that metric. Total new passenger car registrations for the half were up 29 per cent to 23,957 from 18,576 in H1 2024. German luxury brands BMW and Mercedes-Benz were in third and fourth place respectively. BMW upped its numbers to 2,664 from 2,523, while Mercedes-Benz's registrations increased to 2,537 from 2,463, although both brands lost market share. Fifth place Japanese mass market brand Honda's registrations increased 50.5 per cent to 2,268. It also increased its market share to 9.5 per cent from 8.1 per cent in the previous corresponding period.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump weighs whether to allow Taiwan leader's transit through US
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te was planning to stop in New York on Aug 4 and then Dallas 10 days later. WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is debating whether to allow a planned US stopover by Taiwan's leader next week as concerns mount that it could derail trade talks with China and a potential summit with President Xi Jinping, according to people familiar with the matter. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te was planning to stop in New York on Aug 4 and then Dallas 10 days later as part of a trip to diplomatic allies Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize, Bloomberg reported earlier in July. Planning for the trip was thrown into flux late last week when Taiwanese officials couldn't get their US counterparts to give the green light, the people said. The hesitation over allowing Mr Lai's trip has unnerved some officials in the US as well as in Taipei, who fear President Donald Trump may concede too much to China as he seeks a meeting with Mr Xi, the people said. Bloomberg reported earlier that Trump's administration was reaching out to CEOs to accompany him on a possible trip to Beijing later in 2025. The White House and US State Department didn't reply to requests for comment made outside normal working hours. 'Any such claims are pure speculation, based on incorrect information,' said Mr Lii Wen, a spokesman of the Presidential Office in Taipei. 'The Presidential Office announces relevant plans publicly after all arrangements have been confirmed.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Thailand, Cambodia agree to 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire' to de-escalate border row Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole backfilled; road to be repaved after PUB tests Singapore Foreign workers who rescued woman from sinkhole given tokens of appreciation Asia Gunman kills 5 security guards near Bangkok's Chatuchak market before taking own life Singapore COE quota up 2.6% to 18,701 for August to October Singapore Ong Beng Seng set to plead guilty on Aug 4 in case linked to ex-transport minister Iswaran Singapore HPB looking for vaping, smoking counselling services for up to 175 secondary school students Singapore Jail for former pre-school teacher who tripped toddler repeatedly, causing child to bleed from nose The US has delayed such trips in the past, and could yet suggest an alternative timeframe and layover locations. In 2024, Mr Lai pushed back a planned transit through Hawaii and Guam by several months following a Biden administration request to wait until after the US election, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr Lai's planned visit comes at a delicate diplomatic moment. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng on July 28 are convening their trade teams in Stockholm to advance talks for a deal with ramifications for global markets. An extension of a trade truce reached between both sides is expected and would help pave the way for a Trump-Xi meeting. China, which views the democratically governed island as its own, has branded Mr Lai a 'separatist' and 'parasite', views Taiwan as the most sensitive issue in relations with other countries. It has increasingly opposed US interactions with Taiwanese leaders, in particular by staging large-scale military exercises surrounding the island following former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei in 2022. Any hesitation from Mr Trump over transits by Taiwan's president will fan concerns that Washington's position on the self-ruled democracy, which Beijing considers a renegade province, could become a trade war bargaining chip. In an abrupt policy reversal, Mr Trump already put on the negotiating table some tech curbs imposed on China over national security concerns. While the US doesn't have official ties with Taiwan, it's legally obliged to provide weapons for the island's self-defence and is Taiwan's top supplier of military equipment. Embattled leader Mr Lai, who won 2024's presidential election with the lowest winning percentage since 2000, also risks looking weak at home and abroad. Last weekend, a failed attempt to unseat lawmakers handed the opposition more ammunition for its agenda, which includes forging closer ties with Beijing. Adding to the uncertainty, Taiwan's trade officials are currently in Washington for talks aimed at clinching a deal to avert a threatened 32 per cent tariff. All of Taiwan's sitting presidents since the 1990s have travelled to the US on stop overs en route to other destinations. While most visits passed without triggering heightened tensions, a trip by then-leader Lee Teng-hui to speak at Cornell University in 1995 sparked the so-called Third Strait Crisis, with China firing missiles into waters near the main island of Taiwan. Stopover requests, on occasion, have been used as a way for US leaders to signal displeasure with Taiwan's policy. The most prominent example of that came in 2006, when then-US President George W. Bush scuttled Mr Chen Shui-bian's request to transit to Paraguay via either New York or San Francisco. That snub was taken as a sign his unofficial relationship with Washington had suffered a serious blow, after Mr Chen upset the Bush administration with a series of pro-independence policies that risked provoking China. Mr Lai's New York and Dallas stops would mark his first to continental US soil since he became president in 2024 and Mr Trump took power in January. His transits in Hawaii and Guam last December were followed by what Taipei described as China's largest naval deployment in years along the first island chain, which also includes Japan and the Philippines. US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters earlier in July that layovers by Taiwanese presidents are routine . 'Transits of the United States by high-level Taiwan officials, including presidents, are in line with past practice and fully consistent with our longstanding policy,' she said. BLOOMBERG
