Horror! HSBC hires an M&A banker from Rothschild
HSBC, which ranks around 22nd for European M&A and 14th in the UK, has hired someone from Rothschild, which ranks around 15th for European M&A and 10th in the UK (but has been known to rank far higher). What's going on?
HSBC declined to comment on whether its appointment of Roland Niklaus, a director at Rothschild, as managing director and (alleged) head of its media team is an aberration or a sign of its renewed interest in M&A recruitrment. However, headhunters we spoke to say it's probably the former.
"HSBC have been hiring a little bit generally," says one M&A headhunter. "They've been trying to take advantage of the fact that they're seen as quite a stable bank, but they're doing it in quite a half-hearted way."
HSBC's last big M&A build ended in tears when it lost prize bankers like Adrian Coates and John Studzinski. Although the bank had some advisory successes in 2006, it spent the first two quarters of 2009 languishing close to the bottom of the top 20 for European M&A according to Thomson Financial.
By comparison, Rothschild typically ranks close to, or within, the top 10. On occasion, it has ranked towards the top of the top 10 for UK M&A.
Headhunters say that Niklaus was probably inspired to join HSBC by the prospect of a promotion and the fact that when he decided to leave Rothschild three months or so ago, the M&A hiring market was dead and there were few other options.
