HSBC in London plans to hire up to a dozen structured asset finance professionals in the first half of the year, according to Scott Dickens, European head of ABS and structured bonds. Four hires were made in 2004 after Dickens came on board over the summer to ramp up the team (BW, 8/16) and he said this year's hires will be focused in commercial mortgage-backed securities, residential mortgage-backeds and covered bonds. HSBC is beefing up its team in the hopes of becoming a significant player in the European asset-backed market, where it is still well behind the top 10 banks in the regional league tables.