French investment bank Natixis has announced a plan to cut 700 jobs both in France and globally by the end of 2015 as part of a move to scale down costs.
The headcount reduction exercise will be implemented across most business lines including equity brokerage, equity derivatives, advisory and global transaction banking. Natixis stated that the restructuring - which is due to economic and regulatory factors - will begin as soon as mid-November.
"These potential adjustments would be implemented in accordance with the collective employment agreement that states notably that any potential reorganisation within the next three years and impacting employment will be implemented in priority through internal mobility, along with a targeted effort on training programmes and without any form of forced departure," a Natixis spokesperson told SRP.
Natixis did not disclose the number of jobs to be eliminated in its equity derivatives and structured products division.
Following the bailout by its retail parents Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne after the 2008 financial crisis, Natixis - a marginal player in the French structured products market with a 2% market share - implemented a first wave of restructuring within its corporate and investment bank in 2009, thereby segregating a range of assets that no longer corresponded with its 'new strategic choices' into a new unit.
Calls to senior executives at Natixis Structured Products to establish the impact of the cuts on the division and its commitment to the structured products business were not returned. However, the firm has recently been actively hiring for its globally equity derivatives business.
In the past three months, Natixis has appointed Selim Mehrez as global head of equity derivatives in Paris; Scott Pangbourne and Jonathan Ohnona as director in structured products sales and equity derivatives trader, respectively, in New York; and Chris Jackson as head of international product in London.
In addition, Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM) has appointed Marie Teo as director of institutional sales in Southeast Asia and Madeline Ho as head of wholesale distribution for Asia Pacific. Both are based in Singapore.
NGAM launched Seeyond in September 2012, an investment division dedicated to structured products and volatility management.
SRP data shows that Natixis currently has 46 live products across all jurisdictions including France (21 structured notes and life insurance structures); Taiwan (14 structures); the US (four products); and Germany (three products) as well as in Switzerland, Japan and Belgium with one product in each market.
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