Expat bankers at Western banks in Hong Kong may like their lifestyles locally, but that doesn't count for much when there aren't any deals to be done.
Even though there’s still a whole quarter to go before the end of the year, most western banks have already written off 2022 as one to forget.
“We’re not going to recover what we’ve lost over the next 12 weeks,” said one banker in Hong Kong. With initial public offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong down 78% this year versus 2021, banks are redeploying staff to hotter markets.