HSBC adds 400 investment bankers, builds up equities

HSBC is about halfway through bulking up its equities platform to build on its strong debt position and tap into rising equity market activity in Asia, the head of its investment bank said.
HSBC added about 400 staff in its global banking and markets (GBM) investment bank arm in the first half, with about 50 of those part of the equities build-up, said Stuart Gulliver, head of GBM said on Monday.
The equities expansion will not be a repeat of the aggressive build up seen between 2003 and 2006, Gulliver said. HSBC scrapped that plan to take on Wall Street's top names and has since pursued a financing-focused and emerging markets led strategy.
The London-based bank said in its half-year results on Monday it aimed to leverage its debt market position and build out its equities platform across advisory, equity capital markets (ECM), research and distribution.
It plans to expand in Hong Kong, mainland China, India, the Middle East, Brazil and Mexico, and develop the business in Britain, France and Germany.
HSBC ranks 16th for global equity and equity-related issues this year, according to Thomson Reuters data, working on 25 deals worth $3.4 bln.
GBM made a profit of $5.6 bln in the first-half, down 11% from record earnings a year ago but its second best half-year ever. It fared better than many rivals as the industry was hurt by a sharp slowdown in capital markets activity following the euro zone debt crisis.
The bank said it set aside about 21% of GBM's revenue for bonuses in the first half, down from 24% a year ago.
Its hires have included John Crompton, who joined in April as global head of equity capital markets after a spell as a key banker at UK Financial Investments, the government body tasked with selling stakes in part-nationalised banks.
GBM's first-half income dropped 12% from a year ago to $10.8 bln, with rates down 22% to $1.5 bln and foreign exchange down 16% to $1.5 bln. Balance sheet management income dropped by a third to $2.3 bln.
Equities income rose by half to $479 mln, financing and ECM dipped 12% to $1.4 bln and credit revenues held near flat at just over $1 bln.