JPMorgan Chase is cutting approximately 30 investment banking jobs in Asia Pacific this week amid continued downturn in dealmaking activities in the region, Bloomberg has reported citing people privy to the development.
Most of the affected bankers are operating out of Greater China.
The move marks one of the largest redundancies carried out in the American banking giant’s banking divisions in Hong Kong and China over the last few years.
However, the layoffs account for not more than 5% of the bank’s total investment banking workforce in the region, with majority of them belonging to junior level positions, the unnamed people told the publication.
The job cuts, which include bankers responsible for both regional and China-focused markets, come at a time when investment banks aim to minimise costs across the globe.
It is also aimed at reducing the impact of prevailing geopolitical stress and China’s regulatory set up, added the people.
An unnamed Singapore-based spokesman told the agency over phone: “We regularly review our business needs and a small number of employees across Asia Pacific have been affected.”
The spokesman refused to give details on the size of the layoff.
Last month, JPMorgan secured regulatory approval to establish fully-owned mutual fund joint venture in China.
The approval enables the firm to fully own China International Fund Management (CIFM) by gaining a 49% stake from Shanghai International Trust.
In late 2021, JPMorgan also received clearance to invest nearly CNY2.67bn ($389m) in China Merchant Bank’s asset management arm.
