SAO PAOLO, Brazil: HSBC Holdings, Europe’s largest bank, hired Ricardo Lanfranchi from Barclays to head local Latin America equity sales.

Lanfranchi, who was at London-based Barclays since 2009, will oversee from Sao Paulo HSBC’s team covering domestic Latin American accounts, the company said in a statement.

Lanfranchi will report to Thomas O’Leary, head of equities for the Americas, and Otavio Mendes, head of global markets for Brazil, according to the statement.

“His appointment is a strategic addition to our senior team as we methodically continue to add to our equity capabilities across the Americas,” O’Leary said.

HSBC hasn’t underwritten any equity deals in Brazil this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The bank boosted its Latin America research team to 25 people after hiring seven senior analysts this year, it added.

Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver is cutting US$3 billion of costs by eliminating as many as 14,000 jobs over the next three years.

(BLOOMBERG)