HSBC is cutting about 100 senior bankers around the world (HSBC)

Thomson Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC has begun cutting around 100 senior jobs in its investment banking division worldwide this week, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The cuts affect bankers at managing director and director level in the lender's Global Banking and Markets division, the sources said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

"We review on an annual basis performances across Global Banking & Markets and make appropriate changes to strengthen and grow the business," a spokesman for the bank said in an emailed statement.

The cuts at HSBC follow a previous cull in the lender's Global Banking division last May as the business led by former Goldman Sachs banker Matthew Westerman looks to reduce costs.

Westerman, tipped by some insiders as a potential future HSBC Chief Executive, has made sweeping changes including cutting the jobs of dozens of senior bankers and restructuring the entire division.

Investment banks often trim jobs in January, as bosses review staff performance to decide how increasingly thin bonus pools should be allocated and which weaker performers they are prepared to let go.

The latest round of cuts comes as HSBC bankers in its London headquarters face uncertainty as the lender prepares for expected disruption caused by Britain's exit from the European Union.

HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said on Wednesday the bank could relocate staff responsible for generating around a fifth of its UK-based trading revenue to Paris.

HSBC reports its full year earnings on Feb. 21.

The bank's shares have risen 3.3 percent this year, against a 2.2 percent rise in the STOXX European banks index <.SX7P>.

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