JPMorgan, the nation’s largest municipal underwriter by par value, laid off municipal finance staff this week.
JPMorgan’s layoffs follow cuts from BMO Financial Group and Credit Suisse as part of a trend toward shrinking U.S. financial employment.
A JPMorgan spokesman confirmed the changes and said that less than 5% of the public finance team was affected. He also said that the group’s headcount would likely remain steady throughout the remainder of 2012 and that the group would continue to make strategic hires in banking.
Employees in JPMorgan's Public Finance Group are involved with underwriting, credit origination, sales, trading, research, and syndication. They do not oversee municipal bond mutual funds.
JPMorgan was the largest underwriter of municipal bonds in the United States in 2011, by par value for which it was senior manager.
In other industry employment news, BMO Financial Group started laying off 350 staff in mid-January and plans to continue contracting until mid-April. The layoffs are the aftermath of BMO’s acquisition of M&I Bank in December 2010, said Jim Kappel, BMO spokesman.
BMO’s wholesale banking unit, BMO Capital Markets, was the 22d largest underwriter of U.S. muni bonds in 2011.
Most of the laid-off employees were in backup roles rather than customer-support roles, Kappel said. He declined to say how many were closely involved with munis.
While 157 of those let go were in Milwaukee, Wis., since July 2011 the company has also added 120 people to its operations in the city.
Some of those laid off have since been offered positions in other parts of the firm, Kappel said. In the coming months, others may be rehired.
Credit Suisse is also laying people off. From Thursday to May 1, it expects to cut 109 employees from its New York City office, a knowledgeable source at the bank said.
The layoffs are part of a plan to cut at least 1500 employees worldwide. The worldwide cuts were announced in November 2011.
On Monday, the New York City Independent Budget Office projected that the city’s securities and investment banking firms would lay off 4,300 people this year. It also projected that total wages including bonuses would decline by 7.5% from the 2011 levels.
Federal implementation of the Dodd-Frank regulations is causing the layoffs, said IBO communications director Doug Turetsky.
