Credit Suisse to cut 80% of Hong Kong investment bank jobs from this week: Sources

HONG KONG - Around 80 per cent of Hong Kong-based investment banking staff at Credit Suisse will be laid off and the cuts will start this week, two people with knowledge of the matter said,

as part of the bank’s integration with UBS Group.

Only about 20 bankers will likely be spared the cuts that will impact Credit Suisse’s 100-strong investment banking team based in the territory, said the sources.

Hong Kong makes up Credit Suisse’s biggest share of investment bankers in Asia.

Credit Suisse and UBS declined to comment.

The cuts come after UBS closed a Swiss government-backed deal to buy Credit Suisse in June. Since the deal was announced, UBS has made clear it will reduce risk in Credit Suisse’s investment banking operation.

UBS laid off employees from Credit Suisse’s investment bank in New York last week, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the situation. UBS has also decided to close Credit Suisse’s office in Houston, the source said.

Market participants expect UBS to provide more details this month on its integration plans. Its targets and indications from insiders and analysts point to cuts amounting to about a third of the combined group’s global workforce.

Reuters reported in June that UBS was looking to retain over 100 Credit Suisse investment bankers across Asia to shore up talent in markets where the latter has a stronger presence.

Besides Hong Kong, other regional markets in which Credit Suisse has investment bankers include China, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, South Korea, Thailand and India. Its total investment banking headcount in the region was not immediately known.

As part of the integration, most Credit Suisse investment banking teams in Hong Kong will be able to keep just one or two staff members, though certain sector coverage teams will be removed entirely, the two people said.

Those retained will mostly work on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), they said.

Mr Christian Deiss, head of Credit Suisse’s Asia-Pacific M&A business since 2021, is leading the regional investment banking transition in collaboration with UBS, the people said. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS