People Moves

Weak Japan Market Spurred Job Cuts Among Foreign Banks

Vanessa Doctor Asia Correspondent 3 August 2012

Weak Japan Market Spurred Job Cuts Among Foreign Banks

Weak global markets have led foreign banks with operations in Japan to cut down their staff numbers onshore and relocate to other financial centres in Asia, Bloomberg writes.

The number of staff at the nine global securities firms with Japan offices dropped by 537, or 7.3 per cent, to 6,796 as of 31 March, which was more than double the 3.2 per cent reduction recorded in 2011. Goldman Sachs is said to have led the mass job cuts, reducing its headcount by 14 per cent to 847. 

Stock underwriting posted dismal results in Japan in 2011 as companies steered clear of capital markets after the tsunami and the March 2011 earthquake. The news service notes that public offerings in the country had declined to ¥1.2 trillion ($15 billion) in the year to March 2012, from ¥4 trillion in the previous year. 

Other brokerages that announced job cuts in the country are Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.

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