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After a strong year in 2019, CEO Jes Staley is angling to expand the Barclays' dealmaking unit.
- Barclays is planning to hire double-digit numbers of managing directors to expand its investment bank in 2020.
- The bank improved its dealmaking market share in the US in 2019 and global banking head Joe McGrath has internally expressed ambitions to further bolster its platform.
- Global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles is understood to have landed a mandate to recruit senior bankers for the firm, with several searches already underway.
- Hiring ambitions by Barclays and UBS may signal another fiercely competitive year for senior investment bankers.
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Barclays has hatched plans to hire double-digit numbers of senior investment bankers this year as it looks to further expand its share of the US investment-banking fee pool.
The British bank clawed back dealmaking market share from rivals in 2019, and global banking head Joe McGrath has recently spoken internally about the firm's ambitions to capitalize on the momentum and expand its investment banking platform, one insider said.
As part of the plans, Barclays is targeting at least 10 to 12 managing director-level hires to bolster underperforming coverage areas, according to people familiar with the strategy.
The plan and the precise number of hires is flexible, sources said, but global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles is understood to have landed a mandate to recruit senior bankers for the firm, with several searches already underway.
Representatives for Barclays and Heidrick declined to comment.
Barclays hired 10 investment banking MDs in the Americas region in 2019, according to industry reports from Wall Street recruiting and consulting firms. On the flipside, nearly 20 MDs departed the firm last year, including a cadre of financial institutions bankers.
The bank's focus last year was hiring for its technology-banking practice, according to a source familiar with its strategy, but its 2020 push will target hires across sectors. The hires will primarily focus on the US market, the largest investment-banking fee pool in the world.
Barclays improved its US dealmaking market share in 2019, rising one spot to 5th in investment-banking fees while improving its market share to 5.7%, up from 5.4% in 2018, according to Dealogic. In US mergers and acquisitions, the bank held steady in 5th place but improved its share to 5.3%, up from 4.9% in 2018.
It remains to be seen whether Barclays' ability to attract top-flight bankers will be impacted by cuts to the investment bank's 2019 bonus pool amid the firm's efforts to reach return-on-equity goals mandated by CEO Jes Staley.
Barclays' plans follow the news that UBS is aiming to add 20 MD-level dealmakers, with a focus in the US, over the next two to three years, according to Bloomberg. UBS brought aboard 20 senior-level investment bankers in the US in 2019, according to the reports from recruiting and consulting firms.
The hiring ambitions of two of the top European banks may signal another fiercely competitive year for senior investment bankers.
With new leadership gripping the reins at top investment banks, turmoil enveloping others, and a still scorching dealmaking environment, a vigorous appetite in the US for top rainmakers has become a constant over the past two years.