HSBC investors back CEO's investment banking retrenchment

Investors in HSBC are backing management attempts to shutter parts of its investment bank, even as U.S. President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda fuels hopes for a boom in capital markets activity. Four shareholders, including two of the 20 largest, said last month's decision to axe HSBC's mergers and equity capital markets teams in the Americas and Europe made sense as the bank focuses on its strongest franchises in its core Asian markets. Once a sprawling behemoth spanning more than 100 countries, HSBC has spent the last decade slowly shrinking its global footprint and exiting low-return businesses. As U.S. tariffs threaten…