HSBC (HKG:0005) let go of 134 senior employees last year for a severance cost of $67.5 million, the Financial Times (FT) reported citing company accounts.
The axing of the employees, deemed material risk takers, who made up around 10% of the lender's most senior bankers, was the largest since the 2008 financial crisis, according to an FT analysis.
The move came as part of a larger restructuring of the lender's investment banking operations.
The dismissal of material risk takers is reportedly not limited to the investment wing, however, the FT said citing a person close to HSBC.
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