Switzerland’s largest bank UBS has cut a number of positions in its cash equities business in London following the forced takeover of its local rival Credit Suisse, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Roles were cut in sales and research, the people said, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is private. While the exact number of people affected isn’t known, one banking source said the cuts were somewhat inevitable following the takeover of Credit Suisse.
UBS declined to comment.
UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse in March, in a marriage orchestrated by the Swiss government. While the deal may have averted a potential financial meltdown in Switzerland, it was viewed with trepidation by some as there were concerns it would trigger widespread jobs losses in the UK. Credit Suisse employed about five thousand people in the City before the takeover.
UBS said it was embarking on a ten-billion-dollar cost cutting plan in August, axing three thousand jobs in Switzerland alone, after agreeing to buy its rival. The investment bank’s strategy does not change post the deal and it wants to maintain its leading position in equities, one source added.
The Swiss bank is not the only financial services firm cutting headcount in its trading and investment banking unit in London.
Wall Street giant Citi made a number of cuts to its cash equities trading business this week, as exclusively revealed by The TRADE. UK rival Barclays is also planning to make cuts, trimming about 5% of client-facing staff in its trading division, according to reports earlier in the month.
UBS vice-chairman, Lukas Gaehwiler, said at a conference in Zurich on Tuesday that Credit Suisse could still generate more losses in the second half of the year, but expressed confidence that the deal would benefit his bank in the long run.