HSBC is planning to build a European credit strategy team as part of its effort to enhance its credit research group. Frances Hutchinson, London-based head of fixed-income credit research, says the firm is evaluating what the function of the credit strategy team will be and what products it will provide. A timeline for the group's establishment has not yet been set, but HSBC will be in the market to hire credit strategists, she adds.
The firm is also bulking up its sector coverage for European credit research and plans to add two analysts to its eight-member team. Hutchinson says HSBC is building up its research effort in response to the increasing size and sophistication of the European credit markets. She declined to say what sectors the new hires would cover.