UBS, Credit Suisse trade Zurich's costly charm for Polish provinces

Warsaw

SWISS financial titans UBS and Credit Suisse are expanding their operations in provincial Poland in a cost-saving drive made more urgent by the surge in the value of the Swiss franc.

Economic imperatives are forcing the banks to transfer some of their functions to cheaper locations and swap lakeside Zurich, with its streets lined with luxury boutiques, for the rougher-edged charm of Krakow and Wroclaw.

Even before the Swiss central bank abandoned its cap on the currency in January, the cost of taking on someone in Poland was just 50 to 60 per cent as much as hiring an equivalent employee in Switzerland, according to two industry sources. But since the cap was removed, the savings from shifting operations eastwards have become …