Wall Street Banks May Thaw Japan M&A Hiring, Recruiter Says

Foreign banks in Japan may resume hiring this year to advise local clients taking advantage of the stronger yen to acquire companies abroad, while cutting jobs for other investment banking services, a recruitment firm said.

“Wall Street firms are largely lacking workers for M&A” in Japan after paring staff since the 2008 global financial crisis, said Katsunobu Komizo, chief executive officer at Executive Search Partners Co., the country’s biggest recruitment company focusing on investment banks. “They may lift their hiring freeze sometime soon and recruit people who are good at execution.”