HSBC Holdings has begun cutting some 100 managing director and director jobs in its Global Banking and Markets division, reductions that are part of a harsher end-of-year review procedure. The bank is also sharpening divisions within its investment-banking bonus pool this year, giving more lucrative awards to top performers while slashing compensation for those ranked at the bottom.

The pay change is designed to boost the division’s competitiveness and is an attempt to break from HSBC’s traditional approach, which was more egalitarian than most other investment banks, said the people, who asked not to be identified because staff haven’t yet been told.

The cuts and new bonus policy were implemented by new co-head of banking Matthew Westerman, who served as chairman of Goldman Sachs’ European investment banking unit before HSBC hired him in February. Westerman has already restructured management following a combination of the banking and capital financing units and overseen several high-profile exits.

Under Westerman, the investment bank is also introducing more competition into its promotion cycle, with the bank promoting a smaller percentage of candidates up for managing director.

It's all part of CEO Stuart Gulliver’s broader plan to shrink the global lender by cutting 25,000 jobs and reducing annual expenses by $5 billion by the end of 2017.

The bank will also be bolstering incentive pay for employees that have collaborated with other parts of the bank to win new business, such as the commercial arm, or show “positive behaviors” such as attendance at training, completing tests and reporting suspect behavior from colleagues and the bank’s clients, said one of the people.