HSBC restructures investment banking arm

(Adds detail throughout)

By Steve Slater

LONDON, June 6 (IFR) - HSBC has restructured its investment bank as part of a push to streamline the business to make it more profitable and "agile" following the arrival of a new top banker from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) .

The overhaul to HSBC's global banking business marks a step-up in plans to cut costs and streamline the business, which were outlined in February by global business and markets (GBM) chief executive Samir Assaf.

At that time HSBC hired senior Goldman Sachs banker Matthew Westerman to become co-head of banking alongside Robin Phillips. Westerman started last month.

"Our new structure will deliver the best outcome for our clients by bringing our country, sector and product teams closer together - and improve returns for our shareholders by improving our profitability and generating efficiencies," said Westerman and Phillips in a staff memo on Monday seen by IFR.

"The environment around us is changing, and we must adapt to ensure that we use our competitive strengths," Westerman and Phillips said, referring to the bank's strong balance sheet and international network.

The bank is setting up a corporate, financials and multinationals banking unit (CFMB) headed by Philippe Henry.

John Crompton, who was HSBC's global head of corporate finance, and Florian Fautz, global head of M&A, left last week as part of the restructuring, according to people familiar with the matter.

Several dozen less senior staff will also leave as part of the changes, the people said.

David Gardiner, global head of project finance, and Scott Dickens, head of structured capital markets and co-head of infrastructure, also left last week, other people said.

HSBC has set up a new advisory team, combining corporate finance with mergers and acquisitions execution, and a second memo to staff named heads for all the regions and new units within global banking.

Asia-Pacific co-heads will be Martin Haythorne and Che-Ning Liu, and within that Stephen Williams will run south-east Asia.

North America will be led by Russell Julius and Lex Malas; Latin America will be led by Katia Bouazza and David Morin; Matthew Wallace will head the Middle East; and Philip Noblet and Alan Thomas are co-heads of the UK. Phillips and Westerman will lead the business in Continental Europe.

The memo said Richard Montague is global head of credit and lending; Ravininder Singh is head of multinationals; Tim Reid will become head of transaction banking coverage; and Stuart Rousell will remain as head of the working capital management team. They will all report to Henry, who reports to Phillips and Westerman.

Brian Heyworth will continue to run the financial institutions group (FIG) globally, with Allegra Berman appointed head of FIG for EMEA, as well as head of public sector.

Jean-Marc Mercier and Alexi Chan remain as co-heads of debt capital markets globally. Roger Thomson will lead business development for DCM (KSE: 024090.KS - news) .

Adrian Lewis, Alexis Adamczyk and David Noble will continue in their roles as heads of equity capital markets in EMEA, Asia-Pacific and Americas, respectively. The memo said Lewis and Adamczyk will be jointly responsible for the overall business.

The memo said the bank wanted to increase ECM market share by building on its strong position in North Asia and the Middle East with gains in other regions, and wants to increase its number of joint global coordinator and bookrunner roles.

HSBC appointed Borja Azpilicueta and James Simpson as co-heads of advisory in EMEA; Jason Rynbeck is head of advisory in Asia-Pacific; and Hernan Rissola will head the business in the Americas.

WESTERMAN ARRIVES

Westerman was a big-name hire for HSBC after 16 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as chairman of its investment banking division in EMEA.

He has had close ties to HSBC for some time; Goldman is HSBC's corporate broker, and Westerman knows HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver well.

At the same time as that hiring, Assaf expanded the global banking unit by merging its capital financing business into it and moving a number of clients from its commercial banking arm to the business. Assaf said the aim was to create a more cost-efficient structure.

Last week the bank also hired Andre Cronje as chief operating officer of GBM, appointing him from UBS (LSE: 0QNR.L - news) where he held a similar position.

HSBC said on Monday Kevin Adeson and Spencer Lake, vice-chairmen of GBM, and Patrick Nolan and Kevan Watts, vice-chairmen of global banking, will remain and support client coverage.

Other appointments include Stuart Lea and Arturo Recio as co-heads of infrastructure and real estate, a new group, and Hugo Heath as head of corporates. Richard Jackson continues to lead leverage and acquisition finance globally and Gilles Collombin will remain as head of the financial sponsors group.

The memo said Kevin Godfrey has become head of structured finance, with Nigel Batley his deputy.

The global banking business will have Giles Lambert as head of its business development, a new unit, with Paul Bailey becoming chief operating officer. Greg Watson will continue as head of GBM's client management group and Michael Anderson will continue as chief financial officer of the business. (Additional reporting by Rod Morrison)