With investment-banking revenue plummeting and a recession looming, Wall Street is in retrenchment mode. The job cuts and hiring freezes striking the tech world have made their way to the finance industry, with banking executives preparing for what’s expected to be an austere year ahead.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Group AG and Barclays Plc have all either already fired staff or announced that they plan to do so in coming months. Some smaller firms have completed multiple rounds of terminations.
At the five biggest US banks, revenue from dealmaking and sales of new securities tumbled 47% in the first nine months of last year, meaning even the lucky bankers who manage to keep their jobs are expected to take home much smaller bonuses. Though most are pessimistic about prospects for this year, Wall Street executives aren’t sure how bad the economy will get, and are proactively pulling back on lines of business to get ready.
“You have to assume that we have some bumpy times ahead,” Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said Dec. 6 in a Bloomberg Television interview. “You have to be a little more cautious with your financial resources, with your sizing and footprint of the organization.”
The accompanying chart is a regularly updated list showing which firms are firing finance workers or putting the brakes on new hiring.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.