HSBC is to lay off hundreds of top bankers as bosses scramble to cut costs and slim down the sprawling organisation.

HSBC is forcing managers in its newly formed corporate and institutional banking arm to reapply for their jobs as part of a sweeping cost-cutting drive, according to reports. Hundreds of managers have been asked to interview for their roles as the lender merges its corporate and investment banking businesses in a seeping restructuring plan,

HSBC Holdings Plc has asked hundreds of managers to reapply for jobs in the firm’s newly formed corporate and institutional banking division as Chief Executive Officer Georges Elhedery continues his hunt for ways to make the bank run more efficiently.