CITIGROUP is cutting jobs within its investment banking division in London, becoming the latest Wall Street giant to trim headcount as the slump in global dealmaking enters its third year.

The moves will affect roughly 20 employees, according to sources familiar with the matter. The bulk of the cuts include junior staffers in the analyst to director levels, though some managing directors will also be affected, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information.

A spokesperson for Citigroup declined to comment.

With just days left in the month of March, global dealmaking volume is still about 17 per cent lower than it was at this point in the first quarter of 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Many chief executives have been hesitant to do deals as central banks around the world have ratcheted up interest rates in recent years, creating economic uncertainty.

In response, Citigroup and its rivals have been shedding jobs as they seek to contain costs while they wait for a meaningful rebound in merger activity. JPMorgan Chase & Co, Barclays and Goldman Sachs Group have all eliminated dealmaking jobs in recent months in response to the slowdown.

At Citigroup, the cuts come as chief executive officer Jane Fraser is in the middle of initiating a massive restructuring of the banking behemoth. As part of that work, Fraser elevated the leaders of the company’s five key businesses to her executive management team in recent months in the hopes of holding them more accountable for the performance of their individual divisions.

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That includes Vis Raghavan, who will join later this year from JPMorgan Chase & Co to run the company’s newly formed banking division. The unit includes the firm’s dealmakers and capital markets teams as well as the commercial and corporate banking arms.

Citigroup’s investment banking revenue is expected to be US$829 million in the first quarter, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. While that would be up 12 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier, it is a far cry from the US$1.4 billion the division generated for the quarter in 2019.

“Sentiment is definitely improving,” Fraser said. “We have had some good announced deals coming out but there is obviously a lag to when that converts into revenue.” BLOOMBERG