UBS plans next round of layoffs in Credit Suisse integration

UBS Group is planning another round of job cuts as the firm continues to trim headcount following its rescue of Credit Suisse, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

The job cuts are expected to affect more than a hundred positions across the firm’s global investment bank, the sources said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The reduction in force – which goes beyond a routine pruning of underperformers – is scheduled to take place in the coming weeks, they said.

Job losses are also expected in the wealth management and markets units, another source said. The emergency takeover of Credit Suisse increased UBS’s global workforce by around 45,000 to about 120,000.

A UBS spokesperson declined to comment. Decisions, including the timing of such cuts, are not final and could still change.

The move marks the latest round of cuts at the lender. While chief executive officer Sergio Ermotti has given little guidance on what the overall number of job losses will be, the bank has said it aims to save around US$6 billion in staff costs in the coming years.

In particular, management have shown little appetite for Credit Suisse’s investment bank since the government-brokered deal was announced. Zurich-based UBS cut a group of senior investment bankers in January and has also trimmed staff across its Asia private wealth and investment banking teams.

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Capital hit

UBS’s shares have fallen in recent days on news that the Swiss government wants to impose an increase in regulatory capital requirements on the lender. The proposed reforms would likely translate into a US$20 billion capital hit, a source familiar with the matter has previously said.

That more stringent-than-expected posture came with the lender in the thick of the complex integration and restructuring of Credit Suisse. Chairman Colm Kelleher warned in November that 2024 will be one of the most difficult in the multi-year process, citing the legal merger of the parent banks and big subsidiaries. BLOOMBERG