Deutsche Bank trims investment banking staff amid slowdown
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DEUTSCHE Bank laid off dozens of origination and advisory staffers within its investment-banking division globally as fears of a recession stymie dealmaking, according to a person with knowledge with the matter.
The firm communicated the job cuts across all levels on Wednesday (Oct 19), with a focus on junior ranks, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing personnel changes. The reductions are in line with past years’ efforts to keep a lid on costs, the person added.
Among the departures was Mason Parker, a managing director in the bank’s leveraged finance business, another person with knowledge of the matter said. Parker has been at the bank for more than 20 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
A Deutsche Bank spokesperson declined to comment. Parker also declined to comment.
Banks have been hurt by the dropoff in initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and stock and debt offerings as markets slump. An example in one lucrative corner of investment banking: after a boom in 2021 and during the first half of this year, leveraged-buyout activity slowed significantly in the third quarter, with only US$12 billion of deals announced globally, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Firms including Apollo Global Management and Blackstone have pointed to a tougher financing environment ahead.
The New York Post earlier reported that Deutsche Bank cut more than 20 junior bankers and handful of senior employees based in New York this week.
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In the US, most large banks added to their workforces in the third quarter even as Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley executives talked of scaling back amid the dealmaking slump. New York-based Goldman resumed a process “where we look at bottom performers” for cuts, according to chief executive officer David Solomon, and Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman said his firm is “looking at headcount”. BLOOMBERG
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