SMBC's top American banker is leaving, but not because of Jefferies
Carl Adams, the deputy head of the Americas at SMBC and the Japanese bank's managing executive officer for the US, is leaving. Adams is retiring and being replaced by Juan Kreutz, an SMBC veteran and the head of structured finance solutions, who quietly assumed his role in August.
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The reshuffling at the top comes after SMBC cut around 2% of its US workforce, or several dozen jobs, last month. The cuts are thought to be part of the bank's standard approach to personnel management. Adams' departure was unrelated to the layoffs.
SMBC declined to comment. Adams spent over 12 years at the bank after joining from BBVA, where he was a debt capital markets banker, focused on energy deals.
It's not clear who left in the recent cuts. SMBC is not alone in trimming staff. Goldman Sachs and BNP Paribas have been cutting jobs too.
SMBC has also been hiring in the US market. In July, it added Nick Stevenson from RBC Capital Markets to expand its TMT banking business. In London, it hired Credit Suisse veteran Andrew Burton in March. Last year, it hired leveraged finance MDs Clarke Adams and Matt Burke, from Morgan Stanley and Citi respectively in New York.
SMBC announced last month that it's increased its stake in Jefferies from 15% to 20%. The two firms have had a strategic alliance since 2021 and were already collaborating across M&A, equity and debt capital markets, with a focus on investment grade clients in the US. Adams' departure is also understood to be unrelated to the expanding alliance.
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