Credit Suisse bleeds bankers, UBS saves on payouts

Credit Suisse bleeds bankers, UBS saves on payouts
Rivals have poached dozens of senior Credit Suisse investment bankers in recent months, reducing the need for big redundancy packages for UBS.
JUL 14, 2023

The exodus of talent from Credit Suisse's investment bank has been higher than UBS expected, as rivals have made opportunistic moves to hire senior bankers and their teams.

Deutsche Bank has been one of the most active in poaching Credit Suisse bankers, with more than 40 former employees now on its books. Jefferies has also been a major player, bringing on at least 25 former Credit Suisse bankers.

Santander has also been active in the market, hiring more than 20 former Credit Suisse bankers. The Spanish bank's CEO, Hector Grisi, spent 18 years at Credit Suisse earlier in his career, and he is reportedly keen to bring in some of his former colleagues.

The combined UBS-Credit Suisse employs about 115,000 people globally, but as many as 20,000 roles are expected to be cut as part of the integration. The majority of these cuts are expected to come from Credit Suisse's investment bank.

The poaching of Credit Suisse bankers by rivals is a sign that the market for investment banking talent is still strong. However, it also highlights the challenges that UBS faces in integrating Credit Suisse's business. Analysts have predicted that the restructuring process could cost as much as $10 billion.

Adding to potential headaches for UBS is a class action by Credit Suisse investors that is being spearheaded by Lausanne-based start up LegalPass. Yesterday a group of Swiss institutional investors operating as the Ethos Foundation and representing around 5% of shareholders signed up to the legal claim.

“Since Finma has decided to withdraw shareholders’ voting rights, the only way to challenge the exchange ratio is to go to court, as LegalPass intends to do,” Vincent Kaufmann, chief executive of the Ethos Foundation said to the FT.

Latest News

A year after sale, Commonwealth Financial and LPL start cutting staff
A year after sale, Commonwealth Financial and LPL start cutting staff

Commonwealth Financial joins a number of firm that have recently cut jobs.

Pension funds sue Primoris, allege it hid solar cost overruns from investors
Pension funds sue Primoris, allege it hid solar cost overruns from investors

A slow drip of disclosures, an executive exit, and a stock that fell hard before the suit landed

Unpaid caregivers face steeper financial hurdles on path to retirement, EBRI finds
Unpaid caregivers face steeper financial hurdles on path to retirement, EBRI finds

New research finds unpaid caregivers are more likely to struggle with debt, lower savings and diminished retirement confidence than non-caregivers.

Volatility: Best and worst of times
Volatility: Best and worst of times

Large broker-dealers and registered investment advisors have, since 2020, been developing or sticking to strategies and tactics to combat the pain of intense, short-term market volatility

Want to win in the advisor wars? Then make sure you’re offering plenty of choices
Want to win in the advisor wars? Then make sure you’re offering plenty of choices

Centaurus Financial touts its independence as a key selling point at a time when many firms are being swallowed up.

SPONSORED Direct indexing webinar targets tax-loss harvesting amid market swings

Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains

SPONSORED Who builds the income when the pension disappears?

Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income