Bank of America executive to leave Hong Kong as exodus continues

Bank of America’s co-head of global capital markets in Asia-Pacific is leaving Hong Kong after less than two years as harsh pandemic restrictions prompt an exodus of executives from the territory.

Craig Coben, who moved to Hong Kong in 2020 after 15 years at the bank in the US and London, will return to his home in London and retire from the bank, according to a person close to the matter.

Coben is the most senior departure from the Wall Street bank’s Asia headquarters as more than two years of travel restrictions and severe quarantines force global businesses to reconsider their operations in Hong Kong.

Bank of America, the second-largest US bank by assets, launched a review of its Hong Kong business last month to identify staff who could be relocated to Singapore. The number of moves has not yet been decided but is expected to cover a number of its business units and operations.

Coben is the latest banker to leave the city. A string of JPMorgan Chase executives, including Ryan Holsheimer, head of cash equities and equity distribution for Asia-Pacific, and Francesco Lavatelli, former head of equity capital markets, have transferred to Sydney and London.

Hong Kong’s strict coronavirus rules, which involve 14 or 21 days of quarantine for international arrivals and have prohibited travel from nine countries including the US and UK, have made it increasingly difficult for executives to use the city as a business hub. Global financial institutions warned the government last year that its pandemic policies would damage Hong Kong’s status as a financial centre.

The number of people leaving has surged as Hong Kong has introduced a series of strict new measures for controlling its largest-ever outbreak of coronavirus.

It unveiled a plan this week to test its entire population of 7.5m people, tightened limits on socialising and brought school summer holidays forward to March. The latest crackdown has led to fears of a citywide lockdown and thousands more people, including children, forced into government isolation centres.

“So many people are desperate to get their kids out to avoid incarceration if they were to be Covid positive,” said an executive at a Wall Street bank in Hong Kong. “It will take a few more days to see people bolting, but I fully expect there to be an exodus.”

There has been a net outflow of around 54,000 people from Hong Kong this month, compared with a net inflow of 29,000 in February last year, according to government data. Between July 2020 and July 2021, Hong Kong’s population dropped by a record 1.2 per cent.