LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - HSBC has hired eight former Credit Suisse traders and sales personnel to its global equities business, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday, as it seeks to expand its capabilities and better compete with Wall Street rivals.

The appointments have been made to the bank's high touch and portfolio trading desks, across several locations including London, New York, Hong Kong and Mumbai.

The eight former Credit Suisse staff hired are Simon Farquharson, Andrew Rush, Simon Ansell, Parin Sanghavi, Joseph Barreto, Matt Flanagan, Alex Martin and Tiffany Chiu. A ninth hire, Steve Jobber, was formerly at Davidson Kempner. (Reporting by Iain Withers, editing by Sinead Cruise)