Kamal Jabre's unexpected escape from HSBC to JPMorgan: "I almost fell off my chair"
When we reported in March that Kamal Jabre, HSBC's global head of M&A, would be staying with the bank even as it pulls back from M&A and equity capital markets (ECM) in the UK, Europe and the US, there was some incredulity.
Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here.
Today, it turns out that Jabre won't be staying at HSBC after all. He got a new job with JPMorgan.
Bloomberg reported Jabre's escape this morning. After seven years as head of M&A at HSBC, he's joining JPMorgan as a vice chairman of M&A to expand JPMorgan's business across EMEA.
This has caused some surprise.
"I almost fell off my chair," says one person with knowledge of Jabre. "This was very unexpected."
Before Jabre joined HSBC, he spent 23 years at Morgan Stanley, where he was deputy head of investment banking for EMEA and head of financial sponsors. Although Jabre's title at HSBC was big and global, Morgan Stanley's investment banking franchise is significantly more prestigious than HSBC's, and his move there in 2018 was considered a step-down by some. "We thought he'd just gone to HSBC to top up his pension," observes the person.
At JPMorgan, however, Jabre is back running with the big dogs. Dealogic says JPMorgan ranks second both globally and in EMEA for M&A in year-to-date 2025. By comparison, HSBC ranks outside the top 10 for both.
Jabre's return to US banking is a source of mystification to some at HSBC, who had been grumbling that he was mostly a manager at the bank and didn't bring in many deals. As a vice chairman at JPMorgan, he will be entirely client facing.
Jabre's impressive exit is a reminder that HSBC has some desirable bankers. Last week, Citi hired Ed Sankey, HSBC's much admired head of ECM.
Some of Jabre's colleagues wish him well. "This is a great job for him!," says one. "He has secured a good job for himself." However, they also observe that it leaves many of HSBC's London bankers in limbo, collecting retention packages to complete deals while their leader escapes. Some suggested previously that Jabre should have taken HSBC's bankers and spun out a little boutique. Joining JPMorgan is a lot easier, though.
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. Signal also available.
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libellous (in which case it won’t.)
