The world’s biggest lenders have cut up to 15 per cent of their Asian investment bankers’ jobs since 2012 as the gap between lower deal fees paid in Asia and those paid by western clients grew to its widest level in more than a decade.

Eight of the biggest US and European banks operating in Asia reduced their “front office” headcount 10-15 per cent from 2012-15, say new data from industry benchmarking firm McLagan. The cuts were heaviest in Hong Kong, the region’s investment banking hub, where 25-30 per cent of staff were culled.

Separate data compiled by Dealogic show that Asian clients are paying about 50 per cent less for advice on merger and acquisition deals than clients in the US and Europe. The differential is the highest it has been since at least 2005, the starting point for the data set of 11,000 deals above $200m.