Hong Kong, China, serves as the region in Asia where Credit Suisse has the highest number of investment banking personnel. According to two informed sources, it is expected that starting this week, Credit Suisse's investment banking division based in Hong Kong, China, will cut about 80% of its staff. Only about 20 bankers will be spared from layoffs, affecting 100 members of Credit Suisse's investment banking team in Hong Kong. Despite the circulation of news on this matter, both Credit Suisse and UBS Group have opted not to comment.
In June this year, UBS Group acquired the struggling peer, a deal backed by the Swiss government following a series of bad transactions that led to a massive loss of customers. Since then, UBS Group has stated it will reduce the investment banking risk at Credit Suisse.
According to Reuters, UBS Group last week fired employees of Credit Suisse in New York. Additionally, UBS Group decided to close Credit Suisse's office in Houston. These actions are part of UBS Group's integration process, aimed at adjusting business structures and reducing risk.
Credit Suisse also has investment banking operations in other markets, including China, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, and India. It is currently unclear how many investment bankers there are in these regions in total.
Market participants expect that UBS Group will provide more details on its integration plans this month. According to insider analysis, the group might implement significant staff optimization and adjustments, with an expected global workforce reduction of about a third.
In June this year, Reuters reported that UBS Group sought to retain over 100 Credit Suisse investment bankers to bolster its talent pool in the Asian markets.
According to two informed sources, the integration process between Credit Suisse and UBS Group will result in adjustments to team structures and personnel allocations, with most investment banking teams in Hong Kong being able to retain only one or two employees, and some industry coverage teams might be completely eliminated.
They indicated that the retained employees would primarily be involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities. Christian Deiss has been in charge of Credit Suisse's M&A operations in the Asia-Pacific region since 2021 and is currently cooperating with UBS Group to lead the investment banking transition in the area. However, Deiss has not yet responded to requests for comment.