By Selena Li
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Around 80% of Hong Kong-based investment banking staff at Credit Suisse will be laid off and the cuts will start from 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-people strong investment banking team based in the territory, the people said, declining to be identified as the discussions on the matter were private.
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.
As part of that, 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 specifics later this month on its plans for the integration. Its targets and indications from insiders and analysts suggest it might be looking at cutting about a third of the combined group’s global workforce.
(Reporting by Selena Li; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Christopher Cushing)
