CLSA Loses Head of Rates, Currency Trading in Latest Departure

(Bloomberg) -- CLSA Ltd.’s global head of rates and currencies trading, Tim Yip, has resigned from the Hong Kong brokerage, adding to a spate of departures from a unit that’s been a key revenue earner.

Yip, one of the highest paid in the fixed-income division, quit two weeks ago after more than four years at the firm, said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing confidential information.

CLSA’s fixed income division has seen an exodus since global head John Sun resigned in September. He was followed out the door by Leo Tong, the global head of debt origination, in January and more than half the team that focused on bond sales in Hong Kong. With Yip, CLSA loses the head of a business that has contributed about 40% of the fixed-income unit’s total revenue, the people said.

A Hong Kong-based spokesperson at CLSA declined to comment.

Sun was replaced by Shi Liang, a former vice president at its parent Citic Securities Co. who was transferred from Beijing.

The firm has been hit by a string of departures since Citic Securities in 2019 cracked down on risk-taking and bonuses at the once freewheeling broker. The shake-up deepened last year as the parent overhauled the decision-making structure at firm, telling key managers to report directly to Beijing.

In an attempt to stem the exodus, CLSA is boosting the monthly paychecks of junior bankers by 30% on average. The increase would be one of the biggest at the brokerage in recent years as the firm is seeking to rebuild its franchise and win more deals.

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