Carnage of city bankers: Thousands face blow after Credit Suisse and UBS shotgun wedding
Tens of thousands of bankers are at risk of losing their jobs following the £2.6 billion bailout of Credit Suisse by UBS.
It is feared that as many as 40,000 jobs could disappear as UBS tries to eliminate overlapping functions and shrink the Credit Suisse investment bank.
Collectively, the new group employs more than 120,000 people – Credit Suisse has 50,000 employees, while UBS has 74,000 employees.
Borrowed time: Bankers at Credit Suisse in Canary Wharf fear worst after UBS bailout
Up to a third of these jobs could disappear, with Credit Suisse’s 17,000 investment bankers expected to bear the brunt of the losses.
The fallen Swiss banking giant employs 5,000 people at Canary Wharf and UBS employs 6,000 at Broadgate in the City.
UBS took over Credit Suisse on Sunday night in a £2.6bn bailout deal to avoid another financial crisis.
City veteran David Buik, of trade fair Aquis Exchange, said: ‘There will be “cherry picking” and Credit Suisse will likely lose more jobs.
‘I expect 2,000 jobs [in London] total to go.’ Since the merger over the weekend, bankers have been arriving at Credit Suisse in Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, fearing the worst over impending job cuts.
To make matters worse, the Swiss government yesterday banned the lender from paying deferred bonuses awarded before 2022.
One banker furious about the merger said he “spent 60 percent of my time working and 40 percent on my resume and looking for recruiters.”
Another added: “I’ve cried twice in my career. Once during my first week in investment banking when I thought ‘what the hell have I gotten myself into?’, and once today.’
And the global picture looks even bleaker, with a third of the combined 120,000 employees at Credit Suisse and UBS on the verge of being cut as UBS looks to significantly downsize the investment banking arm of the combined group to avoid duplication.
UBS will also close branches and cut staff in administrative positions, sources said. Credit Suisse employs 50,000 people worldwide, while UBS has 74,000 employees.
Credit Suisse chairman Axel Lehmann and CEO Ulrich Koerner said they were working to “identify which roles may be affected.”
The bank held a “town hall” meeting on Monday at 9 a.m., starring Koerner. According to staff, they were encouraged to continue working during the period of unrest.
A spokesman for the Swiss Bank Employees’ Association said yesterday: “The acquisition threatens job losses on a scale that the banking sector’s labor market cannot absorb.”
It called for layoffs to be suspended until the end of the year. And because Credit Suisse staff fear being laid off, recruitment agencies and rival banks are getting an “unprecedented” number of calls from people looking for a job.
A London-based headhunter said he was taking calls all weekend, particularly from Credit Suisse’s equity division, which has a large overlap with UBS.
A Singapore company responded to inquiries from some 30 Credit Suisse private bankers about available jobs on Monday, and a Hong Kong recruiter has spoken to more than 20 senior investment bankers since last week.
Swiss Confederation President Alain Berset said the merger would have prevented “unthinkable consequences for Switzerland and the world” if Credit Suisse failed.