NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – A swathe of senior traders have left HSBC Holdings’ US business in recent months as the bank restructures its operations in New York and around the world.

Head of credit trading for Latin America Omar Takriti is among the departures, along with head of equities for the Americas Tom O’Leary, according to people familiar with the matter.

At least 10 traders are leaving the credit desk, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing confidential information. Michael Yarian, formerly the New York-based head of global markets and fixed income, exited last year, while Gerry Mato, a key figure in building the business in Latin America, left in March.

The bank made cuts to its bonus pool for US traders in 2020, and some senior staff were not given awards even as trading revenue swelled, according to the people. Chief executive officer Noel Quinn and his top lieutenants defended group-wide bonus cuts during a staff call in March, Bloomberg News has reported.

“The Americas is an important market for our credit trading business and we are looking to grow the team. We are actively hiring,” said Adam Durchslag, a spokesman at HSBC.

Mr Takriti and Mr O’Leary declined to comment. Leon McIntyre has assumed Mr O’Leary’s role in addition to his role of global head of program trading, a person said.

HSBC’s global markets revenue rose by 27 per cent in 2020 as traders took advantage of the pandemic-induced volatility and increased client activity, yet the bonus pool for global banking and markets was down about 15 per cent, according to the company’s annual report. The equities business, by comparison, increased revenue by 2 per cent in 2020.

HSBC is in the process of restructuring its worldwide operations as it pivots its focus to Asia. The bank has said it expects to reduce its workforce by about 35,000.