Citigroup is moving some of its senior equities staffers out of Hong Kong and to other markets, including Singapore, as the protectorate’s zero-Covid strategy rattles banks, «Bloomberg» reported Thursday.
Among the movers is Lee McQueen, head of pan-Asia equity blocks, who is relocating to Singapore, «Bloomberg» reported, citing people familiar with the matter. That followed a recent move by Sue Lee, the region’s head of equity derivatives distribution, the report said.
The head of futures execution for the region Kevin Zolkiewicz, prime finance section’s Rob McVie and regional head of equity execution advisory Abhishek Choudhary are among the four to five other directors in talks to transfer to Singapore, «Bloomberg» reported, citing the sources.
Citi isn’t alone
Citigroup isn’t the first bank to start moving its people out of Hong Kong.
In January, the «Financial Times» reported, citing unnamed sources, that the Bank of America had started identifying Hong Kong workers who could move to Singapore.
In addition to Bank of America, rival U.S. lender Wells Fargo is also reducing exposure to Hong Kong with reported plans for a hub relocation to Singapore in April last year and, more recently, consideration of a sale of its minority stake in local player Shanghai Commercial Bank for an estimated $1 billion, according to a «Bloomberg» report.
Stringent Covid rules
Hong Kong only scrapped a stringent 21-day quarantine for international arrivals in early February, shifting to a 14-day isolation and seven-day self-monitoring regime.
The flight bans for eight countries – Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the U.K. and the U.S. – will remain in place until February 18.
