HSBC hires Cantor's Paras Jain to lead global TMT banking, sources say

By Milana Vinn

NEW YORK, Oct 2 (Reuters) - HSBC is expanding its technology, media and telecommunications investment banking franchise with a senior hire, Paras Jain from Cantor Fitzgerald, according to people familiar with the matter.

The London-headquartered bank has hired the seasoned investment banker as its global head of TMT, the sources said. He will be based in New York.

Jain, who spent about six years at Cantor Fitzgerald and helped build its technology investment banking group, is expected to start at HSBC in November and will report to Jan Laubjerg, the bank's global head of sectors coverage, the sources said.

HSBC declined to comment. Cantor Fitzgerald declined to comment.

Before joining Cantor, Jain held technology banking roles at Macquarie Group MQG.AX and Morgan Stanley MS.N.

The move comes as HSBC seeks to leverage its roughly $3.4 trillion balance sheet, one of the largest in global banking, to drive financing tied to the buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States and expand its market share in M&A and capital markets in the technology, media and telecom sectors in Asia and the Middle East.

Five AI hyperscalers are expected to spend just over $800 billion this year, increasing to $1.1 trillion next year, according to Goldman Sachs.

Jain's appointment comes after HSBC said in 2025 it would wind down most of its M&A advisory and equity capital markets businesses in the US, Britain and Europe as part of a broader restructuring, while retaining financing businesses including debt capital markets, leveraged finance and infrastructure finance.

The bank said it was shifting toward a more financing-led model focused on areas where it has greater scale and competitive strength.