Wall Street poaching war: Citi, JPMorgan chase talent in hot job market

Wall Street banks are raiding rivals and expanding teams in response to a surge in dealmaking, reversing a period of job cuts and restraint. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are among those aggressively hiring senior bankers as mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings rebound.

According to the Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan has added more than 100 managing directors to its global banking division over the past year, the largest intake on record for the unit. Citigroup and Wells Fargo are also building their benches as part of a strategy to gain market share, while Morgan Stanley has brought in experienced bankers in healthcare, technology and industrials.

The shift marks a striking contrast from the past two years, when weak deal volumes forced banks to trim the headcount they had built up during the 2021 boom. Executives had expected another wave of layoffs this autumn, but rising activity has led some firms to delay or cancel planned cuts.

Goldman Sachs, which had considered further reductions earlier in the year, has instead expanded in middle-market advisory. The change in direction came after fears that tariffs proposed by the Trump administration might dampen dealmaking, but activity has rebounded faster than anticipated.

“The arrow is pointing upwards—they’re thinking of increased headcount and taking advantage of the boom that is coming,” Alan Johnson of compensation consultancy Johnson Associates told the Wall Street Journal. He said the emphasis is on senior bankers with client relationships critical to winning mandates.

Deal surge fuels demand

Global mergers and acquisitions and equity-capital-markets volumes both rose 40 per cent in the summer compared with a year earlier, according to data from Dealogic. It is the strongest run since the record-setting year of 2021. Debt-capital-markets and corporate lending have also gathered momentum.

The rise has emboldened bankers who see fresh appetite in boardrooms and C-suites, supported by buoyant stock markets. Executives believe momentum will continue into the final quarter, particularly as the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cuts lower borrowing costs and encourage companies to pursue acquisitions or raise capital.

Morgan Stanley Co-President Dan Simkowitz told an industry conference this month that volumes were “dramatically improved…versus any period we’ve seen since the post-Covid inflation move.”

Competition for senior hires

The scramble for talent is fiercest among senior executives with sector specialisms. Leslie Gordon, head of global banking and markets at consultancy Korn Ferry, said demand was strong for bankers focused on power, industrials, consumer and financial institutions.

“The big five investment banks are poaching high-profile bankers from each other and increasingly competing against private-equity firms too,” Gordon noted. “You just don’t see layoffs the way we used to see feast and famine. Wall Street has learned layoffs can be very disruptive and if deal activity picks up, then you can be caught flat-footed.”

Citigroup in July hired a senior JPMorgan executive to co-lead its equity-capital-markets business, alongside a new head of technology financing. Morgan Stanley is seeking to add more equity-capital-markets specialists to capitalise on what is shaping up to be the busiest IPO calendar in years.