HSBC's allure rises as hiring slows
In a notional ranking of M&A bankers' favourite places to work Goldman Sachs may well be heading south. HSBC, on the other hand, could be becoming more popular.
HSBC ranked 10th among European banks for its role in advising on M&A deals in the first half of this year. According to data provider Dealogic it advised on $185m of deals, up from just $75m in 2005.
Over the same period, Goldman saw the value of deals it worked on fall 40%, to $240m.
Having won a role as co-lead advisor alongside Citigroup on the $56bn three-way merger between US mining company Phelps Dodge and its Canadian rivals Inco and Falconbridge, HSBC also has plenty of business in the pipeline.
And while Goldman is pulling back from backing bids with its own money, HSBC is increasingly willing to finance acquisitions using corporate loans. Robin Phillips co-head of HSBC's global banking division is quoted in The Times today as saying the bank's willingness to provide loans to finance deals is greater than ever.
But is HSBC's newfound success making much difference when it comes to recruitment? Not really, is the verdict of one headhunter who works for the bank. "People in the know have never lacked the impetus to go and work for HSBC," he says. "The fundamentals of the advisory business are very, very strong and people have known for some time that the league tables were going to change."
The bad news for anyone only now waking up to HSBC's allure is that the bank has apparently finished making all but a select number of senior M&A hires this year, although junior recruitment continues apace.
