Wells Fargo is cutting 40 to 50 jobs in its corporate and investment bank division, according to people with knowledge of the decision, the latest major financial firm to reduce staff amid a deal drought that has dragged on for more than a year.
The bank is cutting a number of managing director positions as part of the cost reduction effort, as well as more junior roles, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the decision hasn't been publicly disclosed. Some of those affected were alerted this week, the people said.
"Like all well managed organizations, we regularly review and evaluate the needs of our clients and the markets we serve in order to ensure we align our resources accordingly," a Wells Fargo spokesperson said in a statement. "These departures represent a small number, and we remain fully committed to our corporate & investment banking business. We have a strong and expert bench of talent that continues to serve our clients across various industries and regions."
The move shows that even firms that are seeking to gain investment-banking market share are trimming their workforces in a slow dealmaking environment. Under Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf, the fourth-largest U.S. bank has sought to grow into a more formidable Wall Street player. At the same time, he's made cost-cuts a key part of his turnaround plan for the firm. Wells Fargo had 227,363 employees as of Sept. 30, down 5% from a year earlier.
Paul Croci, a managing director who joined Wells Fargo in 2019 to lead coverage of the aerospace and defense sector, was among the bankers impacted by the cuts, said a person with knowledge of the matter. A Wells Fargo spokesperson declined to comment, and Croci didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Separately, Lear Beyer, a longtime equity capital markets banker, is leaving Wells Fargo after roughly 18 years at the lender. His departure was communicated to staff via an internal memo earlier this month. The spokesperson for Wells Fargo confirmed Beyer's departure and declined to comment further.
The five biggest Wall Street banks collectively posted a seventh-straight quarter of declines in investment banking fees in the three months ended in September, matching the seven quarters of heightened mergers and acquisitions activity triggered amid a pandemic era of easy money. Merger advisors could see their payouts for 2023 slide as much as 25%, according to a report Tuesday from compensation consultant Johnson Associates.
