Layoffs at Barclays & RBC: Real estate, FIG, industrials, healthcare
As we observed in today's Morning Coffee article, it's too early to call an end to bank's job cuts given that three banks - Citi and RBC and Barclays are busy removing people this week.
Sources at those banks say the cuts are broadly spread in terms of investment banking teams, although there are some points of commonality.
Healthcare teams are being impacted at both RBC and Barclays, for example. Managing directors are going at both banks, but so are juniors and vice presidents. At Barclays, unconfirmed reports suggest that European MDs are out from teams including industrials and the financial institutions group (FIG). Sources at the British bank say there were also more junior exits from the sustainable impact team. Barclays declined to comment.
At RBC, cuts have mostly befallen the European real estate team, whose head, Charlie Foster, is understood to be at risk, along with two VPs. Analysts are also said to have gone from the power and utilities group and from the leveraged finance team. RBC declined to comment.
At the Citi, the cuts remain a mystery. All will become clear in the coming weeks.
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Global M&A revenues were down 32% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2023 according to Dealogic.
As the chart below shows, the top sectors for global M&A so far in 2023 are still technology and healthcare, but technology M&A activity has nearly halved compared to last year. Oil and gas M&A is down over 30%. Real estate M&A is down over 50%.
Even while banks are cutting, though, some recruiters remain optimistic. "The M&A market is coming back (maybe!)," says Andy Pringle at recruitment firm Circle Square. "People are already talking about hiring again."
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