Morning Coffee: Bank officially freezes M&A hiring "for a bit." The 20 people fuelling the hottest area of finance

It's nearly two months since Ted Pick, CEO of Morgan Stanley, declared that if deals in the pipeline didn't get done within three or four months, they would be "deleted." Last month, Reuters reported that signed M&A deals were at a global 20-year low. And now, a bank has officially halted M&A hiring until conditions improve. 

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That bank is Daiwa. The Japanese bank is on a long term M&A hiring spree. It wants to have 900 M&A bankers by 2031, up from 650 two years ago. It's not using Pickish words like "delete" for the bankers in its hiring process, but it is saying "pause," which amounts to the same thing as "freeze" - one day it will hopefully thaw.

Which day will that be? Speaking to Bloomberg, Daiwa CEO Akihiko Ogino said M&A headcount is "on hold for a bit." April and May are often quiet for M&A deals, said Ogino; this year they're quieter than ever. Tariff-induced uncertainty is to blame.

Much like Daiwa's deals, Daiwa's prospective M&A recruits are therefore stuck in its pipeline. They may never get hired, or they may suddenly get hired in a hurry. - When deals finally start again, the pipeline could "move very quickly" and Daiwa will resume its hiring plans, observed Ogino. This sounds like an awkward limbo for anyone set on joining the Japanese bank, although it seems that Nomura might be hiring instead.

It could be worse. As well as pulling the plug on prospectives, Daiwa is also doing away with some existing staff. The investment banking business in China hasn't gone to plan is unprofitable, said Ogino. It will now be scaled down or right-sized "to a more appropriate level.” Hopefully this will not happen elsewhere. 

Separately, 20 people who won't be losing their jobs because there's not enough work to do are the analysts at Egan Jones, a credit trading firm in Pennsylvania. 

Bloomberg says Egan Jones' 20 analysts are right at the forefront of the private credit boom and graded over 3,000 investments in 2024. There's some scepticism as to the accuracy of the ratings, but with each individual seemingly grading three companies a week, maybe it's doable. The company - which reportedly charges less than rival ratings agencies -  is currently hiring someone (in the US) to work remotely and drum up even more work...

Meanwhile...

McKinsey & Co. doesn't need junior staff anymore. People there are increasingly drafting proposals and making PowerPoint slides using 'Lilli' the firm’s generative artificial intelligence platform instead. (Bloomberg) 

Hedge funds AQR and Dymon Asia have been among the best performers this year, returning 10.6% and 8% respectively. Citadel's Wellington fund has returned 0.8%. (Business Insider) 

Jamie Dimon won't be embarking on his new career just yet. “It’s up to God and the board...I love what I do." (Bloomberg) 

Monzo paid a director £12m for the year ending 31 March 2025, according to its latest annual report. That's 607% more than its highest paid director earned a year earlier. (Financial News) 

In 2021, fintech firm Chime was worth $25bn. Now it's worth $11bn. (Financial Times) 

London Stock Exchange Group is in the process of moving a number of EU-based positions to its offices in India. (Financial News) 

Deutsche Bank will be delivering an extra €50m in cost savings from IT next year, after failing to meet its Postbank integration target for this year. It wanted to save  €300m in IT costs this year, but has only saved €270m. (FT) 

Europe's top investment banks have 55% of Europe's fee pool so far this year. That's the highest it's been for nearly a decade. (Financial News) 

Fredrik Weege has joined JPMorgan from Goldman Sachs as head of financial sponsors for the Dach region. (Financial News) 

Quant traders like Optiver and Susquehanna are coming for European trading jobs. (Bloomberg) 

Tech staff who take psychedelics are employing a coach to help them reconnect with reality. 'Some emerge from their experiences wanting to re-evaluate their work life and bring it into a greater balance with new discoveries of God or the interconnectedness of all living things. Others want to quit, finding the office grind to now be an extra dose of meaninglessness.' (WSJ) 

One month after writing, “Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms,” Elon Musk is launching a $300m share sale for xAI. (FT)

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