According to the report, approximately 80% of investment banking employees based in Hong Kong at Credit Suisse are set to face redundancy this week. The job cuts are part of the process as the bank gets integrated with UBS Group.

In June, UBS completed the purchase of its troubled peer with Swiss government backing after facing challenges with several unsuccessful deals, resulting in client departures. The bank expressed its intent to minimize risk in Credit Suisse's investment banking division.

Last week, UBS laid off employees from the New York branch of Credit Suisse's investment bank, as reported by Reuters. Additionally, UBS decided to close the Houston office.

Notably, it was reportedly that UBS aimed to retain over 100 Credit Suisse investment bankers across various Asian markets to strengthen its talent pool where the bank has a stronger presence. Credit Suisse has investment bankers in other regional markets, including South Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, India, and Thailand. However, the total investment banking headcount in the region has not been disclosed.

In the integration process, Credit Suisse's maximum investment banking teams in Hong Kong will retain only one or two staff members, and certain sector coverage teams will be eliminated completely, according to the sources.

The retained employees will mainly focus on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities. Christian Deiss, who has been leading Credit Suisse's Asia-Pacific M&A business since 2021, is collaborating with UBS in overseeing the regional investment banking transition.

Market observers anticipate UBS to reveal more detailed integration plans this month, with projections and insider indications suggesting that the combined group may witness cuts amounting to about a third of its global workforce. Both UBS and Credit Suisse declined to provide comments on the situation.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/credit-suisse-hong-kong-investing-banking-job-cuts-targeting-80-staff-start-this-2023-08-07/