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Natixis Reduces London Headcount by 50 in Strategy Shift

Natixis Reduces London Headcount by 50 in Trading Strategy Shift

Natixis SA, the French investment bank, is cutting 50 positions in London as it starts reviewing its trading operations after a series of losses.

The bank told London staff in a virtual townhall Thursday that it planned to relocate about 30 jobs in equity derivatives and fixed income trading to Paris, as the bank is grouping related operations in France, according to people familiar with the situation. The positions leaving London include traders and related functions, one of the people said.

The bank, which has about 350 staff in London, will also cut another 20 jobs in the U.K., the people said.

A spokesperson for Natixis declined to comment. Natixis shares, which were little changed in early London trading Friday, have tumbled 36% this year.

Natixis was hurt earlier this year by structured products that incurred losses when the pandemic led to companies canceling their dividends. The bank reported a 143 million-euro ($169 million) hit from the dividend-related losses in the second quarter, following a similar-sized loss in the first three months of the year.

While equity trading has since recovered at Natixis, its new chief executive officer, Nicolas Namias, recently said he aimed to shift the company’s trading unit into more stable revenue streams and exit the most complex equity derivative products.

The bank also plans to serve about 50 equity derivative clients in the future -- down from more than 400 previously. Overall, Natixis is targeting 350 million euros of cost savings by 2024.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.