CIMB Group laid off 32 employees from its cash equities and investment banking divisions in Hong Kong on Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter, as it became the latest investment bank to cut jobs amid intense competition and a worsening climate for capital markets in Asia.
The Malaysian bank described the cuts as part of a three-year programme to restore earning growth by squeezing costs and making efficiencies, but not part of a gradual withdrawal from investment banking and equities in North Asia, one source said. The cuts represent 25 per cent of equities staff in Hong Kong.
The majority of layoffs were in the...