UBS to cut 3,500 jobs worldwide
Swiss bank UBS plans to slash around 3,500 jobs, almost half of them from its investment bank, as it seeks to shave some two billion Swiss francs from annual costs by the end of 2013.
UBS had already said it would cut jobs when it posted a lower-than-expected second-quarter profit last month as its underperforming fixed income business weighed.
Like rival Credit Suisse, UBS has been grappling with rising regulatory costs and a record high Swiss franc which are eating into profits.
“The measures announced today are designed to improve operating efficiency. UBS will continue to be vigilant in managing its cost base while remaining committed to investing in growth areas,” UBS said in the statement.
Around 45 per cent of the cuts will come from UBS’s investment bank, 35 per cent from wealth management & Swiss bank, 10 per cent from global asset management and 10 per cent from wealth management Americas.
UBS expects to book a restructuring charge of some 550 million francs, and around 450 million francs of this will be booked in the second half, with the majority recognized in the third quarter.
The savings will come from redundancies as well as natural attrition, and further real estate rationalization, UBS said.
Investment banks worldwide have been hit by slow trading due to the debt problems in the euro zone and United States, as well as regulations aimed at forcing banks to hold more capital to protect them from future shocks after the 2008 global financial crisis.
UBS joins a growing line of banks, including HSBC, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, in cutting thousands of jobs.