HSBC poach Goldman Sachs’ senior executive
(25 February 2016 – United Kingdom) Following its decision to keep headquarters in London, HSBC has announced that it has hired Matthew Westerman, a senior executive at Goldman Sachs, to head its global banking operation.
Westerman, who is currently Goldman Sachs’ chairman of investment banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will join Robin Phillips as co-head of global banking, the Financial Times reports.
He was head of Goldman’s Asia-Pacific (ex Japan) investment banking division from 2012 to mid-2015. Prior to his 2012 move to Hong Kong, he was head of global equity capital markets.
Samir Assaf, chief executive of global banking and markets at HSBC, said: “I am delighted Matthew is joining HSBC. It reflects the confidence people have in global banking and markets’ strategy and potential.”
The bank is strengthening its focus on corporate clients with a restructure of the global banking and markets division. Two of the firm’s investment banking divisions are being merged under a new structure that will include the transfer of several hundred of the largest clients from HSBC’s commercial banking division.
“Global banking and markets is being reorganised to bring the primary product teams much closer to the relationship managers and the clients they serve,” HSBC said.
The bank’s investment banking unit reported around a 33 percent rise in profits in 2015. As part of its Asia refocus, it is culling low return assets in its markets business to shift resources to higher return areas, such as China.
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