Global Bank Layoffs Drive Talent to Chinese Rivals in Hong Kong

For years, Chinese banks have been winning business from Wall Street firms in Hong Kong. Now they’re starting to pick up some of their former staff after a wave of layoffs.

Some 40 ex-bankers from UBS Group AG, BNP Paribas SA and other global firms have found work at Chinese brokerages in the last 12 months after job cuts left the industry awash with talent, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of license records from the Securities and Futures Commission.

The moves mark a sharp reversal from recent years when global firms lured more than 200 bankers from Chinese ...