JPMorgan Chase has appointed Kamal Jabre, HSBC's former global head of mergers and acquisitions, as vice chair of M&A to drive expansion across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to internal memos seen by Reuters and Bloomberg.

The London-based banker will join JPMorgan later this year to help expand the business in EMEA, working closely with the bank's coverage teams and partnering with its financial sponsors, natural resources and Middle East and North Africa groups.

Alongside Jabre's appointment, JPMorgan has also named Marc Pandraud as M&A vice chair. Pandraud joined JPMorgan from Deutsche Bank in 2016 as vice chairman of investment banking, focusing on client relationships in France.

"Given his uniquely global perspective and having advised clients on their critical M&A and advisory needs, we're confident Kamal will make a significant impact," said Anu Aiyengar, global head of M&A at JPMorgan, in the internal memo.

Jabre's departure represents the latest senior exit from HSBC as the UK lender continues overhauling its investment banking operations. The bank announced earlier this year it would wind down M&A and equity capital markets businesses in the UK, Europe and the Americas as part of a strategy to scale back its global footprint and shift focus to Asia and the Middle East.

HSBC has cut hundreds of dealmaking jobs in the City and kicked off redundancies within its research team in May. Other senior London-based bankers have also departed, with Citigroup hiring HSBC's global head of equity capital markets Ed Sankey to lead its ECM team in EMEA earlier this month.

Before joining HSBC in 2018, Jabre spent more than two decades at Morgan Stanley, where he held positions including head of European financial sponsors coverage and deputy head of EMEA investment banking. He also served as chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley's Middle East and North Africa business during his 23-year career at the Wall Street firm.

On 16 May, HSBC unveiled its restructured investment banking team, renamed as a capital markets and advisory business led by former Deutsche Bank dealmaker Adam Bagshaw. The new structure focuses M&A and equity capital markets operations on Asia and the Middle East, with an emphasis on debt financing and private credit.

JPMorgan's appointment of Jabre and Pandraud forms part of the Wall Street bank's strategy of creating vice chair positions for top bankers who relinquish managerial duties to focus on core client relationships.

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