HSBC is slashing hiring and asking investment bankers to cut travel and entertainment expenses as outgoing chief executive Noel Quinn seeks to reduce costs at Europe’s biggest bank.

In some cases, the bank is not replacing employees who have left or quit in recent months, people familiar with the matter said. Some companies have been told to stop hiring altogether, but the hiring freeze is not expected to affect customer-facing positions, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified.

Investment bankers have been encouraged to schedule at least three client meetings a day to make the most of business travel, the people said. Employees in some departments were reminded of some of the expectations regarding business travel at a company meeting in recent days, they said.

“Looking after our customers is our priority and we need to ensure we have the right people in the right places,” HSBC said in a statement. “We are working smarter and more efficiently by leveraging technology and continuing to manage costs.”

HSBC’s austerity measures are the latest sign that banks are preparing for interest rate cuts by central banks around the world in the coming months. This would end an era of stubbornly high interest rates that have boosted the profits of large global banks like HSBC in recent years.

Quinn is also preparing the bank for a new CEO after he announced his resignation earlier this year. The company’s board of directors intends to complete the search for a successor in the next few weeks.

Until then, the 37-year veteran is trying to shore up the bank’s finances in any way he can. When HSBC reports second-quarter results later this month, revenue is expected to be $16.1 billion, down 4.9 percent from a year ago. Profits are also expected to decline.

In investment banking, HSBC is not shying away from more drastic cost-cutting measures as the division grapples with an industry-wide decline in deal volumes and capital market activity.

The London-based lender laid off about a dozen bankers from its investment banking division in Asia in April. The firm’s dealmakers have had a tough time with activity in Hong Kong and China, the firm’s core markets, particularly sluggish as the world’s second-largest economy struggles to get back on its feet after the pandemic.