Morgan Stanley is considering a 7 percent cut in its Asia-Pacific investment banking workforce, with China taking the biggest hit as deteriorating relations with the US and weaker economic growth curb dealmaking, people familiar with the matter said.
The bank is likely to start communicating with affected bankers as soon as this week, with more than 40 jobs at risk, including those with the capital markets unit, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.
Other divisions might also be slightly affected, the people said, adding a final decision on the number of job cuts has not been made.
Photo: AFP
The cuts are part of Morgan Stanley’s plan to reduce about 3,000 jobs globally by the end of this quarter, which Bloomberg reported earlier this month would amount to about 5 percent of staff excluding financial advisers and personnel supporting them within the wealth management division.
The New York-based firm already axed about 50 investment-banking jobs in Asia by the end of last year after a plunge in deals, and a significant number of those were China-focused roles.
The reduction was among the highest for Wall Street firms last year, people familiar said at the time.
Asia has been contributing about 13 percent to Morgan Stanley’s net revenue in the past five years, reaching US$6.7 billion at the end of last year.
The bank reported US$2 billion in first-quarter net revenue for Asia, a 2 percent decline from the same period last year, compared with a 25 percent drop for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, its latest filing showed.
Asia delivered its third highest quarter ever, aided by the policy dynamics in Japan and the China reopening, the bank said on its earnings call with analysts last month.
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