What banks are actually saying about hiring and firing in 2023

efinancialcareers.com:

Are things on the mend? When Goldman Sachs announced its second quarter results last month, it said it no new'unusual' job cuts were planned. HSBC reiterated this week that its grand cost-cutting program ended in 2022. Brian Bissonette, an ex-director at Merrill Lynch who now works for M&A execution platform Dealcloud, is letting it be known that his banking clients are saying their layoffs are over. 

Good news. Even better news is that there are glimmers of hiring at places likeBank of America. However, with new finance jobs in London down 86% year-on-year in the second quarter according to recruitment firm Morgan McKinley, banking jobs are not exactly booming.  

The reality is that there are pockets of hiring and there pockets of firing — often at the same firms. This is a time of haves and of have-nots. 

The boutiques are going wild for senior bankers and the senior bankers are going wild for boutiques 

The haves are the senior bankers who can bring in deals. Deutsche Bank is hiring them, but the most enthusiastic recruiters are at the boutiques.

Speaking on last week's investor call, Paul Taubman, CEO of boutique firm PJT Partners, said this is the most «consequential» year ever for the firm, which intends to "recruit actively" for the remainder of 2023. It's easier to hire senior bankers against a «subdued M&A backdrop,» declared Taubman. For their part, he said bankers want to join boutiques for a range of reasons including a lack of mentoring at big banks, a lack of training, being forced to sell too many different products, an obsession with league tables and insufficient focus on relationships... 

If firms want to make a difference, Taubman said it's not enough just to hire one or two new senior bankers. It's