HSBC rocked by claim of investment bank’s ‘failure’

Now the bank's remaining dealmaking team has entered another period of gloomy introspection after a leaked memo from unnamed HSBC executives claimed that its investment banking strategy had "Utterly failed" and its "Performance is really appalling". The memo - which is being treated as a whistleblowing event by the bank, with its claims examined in a formal process - has ignited a frenzy of speculation in the City of London about the future of HSBC's investment bank. The former executives said morale in the investment banking and markets unit had plummeted after a string of senior departures, including Mr Noblet, who jumped ship to Jefferies, the US investment bank, and Matthew Westerman, the Goldman Sachs veteran brought in to turn the business round in 2016. Another executive who recently left the bank said the memo "Was written by people who care about the bank and want it to be better". For several years, the bank has been slimming down its investment bank and shifting capital to higher returning operations in Asia.

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