UBS and Credit Suisse are threatened with massive job cuts and legal troubles

Frankfurt Planned savings at major Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS could result in the loss of 25,000 to 36,000 jobs. This was reported by the Swiss newspaper “Sonntagszeitung” of the “Tages-Anzeiger”, citing an anonymous senior manager at UBS.

The two institutes together have more than 120,000 employees. Credit Suisse did not want to comment on this, and UBS was initially unavailable.

UBS announced its desire to save $6 billion in personnel costs. Assuming about $200,000 per employee, this would correspond to about 30,000 jobs.

According to the “Tages-Anzeiger”, up to 11,000 jobs could be cut in Switzerland alone. An insider told Handelsblatt that 9,000 jobs are at risk in Zurich alone.

Credit Suisse itself was reeling from the bankruptcy of US regional bank Silicon Valley Bank. In order to stem the risk of a global financial crisis, the Swiss government and financial regulators urged UBS to take over Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse shareholders have suffered huge losses.

Investigations against the government, regulators and directors

This may have legal ramifications. In the course of the bailout, the Swiss government relied on emergency law to remove all legal obstacles to a Credit Suisse takeover.

So UBS shareholders were not allowed to vote on this measure. This has caused criticism in Switzerland.

The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s Office is now examining the proceedings. “Media reports on events surrounding CS over the past few days have been noted, and an assessment of the situation has been made with all the interior regions involved,” the authority told Handelsblatt on request. Investigation orders have also been issued.

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Given the significance of the events, the Public Prosecutor’s Office wants to “proactively fulfill its mandate and responsibility to contribute to a clean financial center in Switzerland and has established a monitoring system so that they can immediately take action on any issues that fall under their responsibility.”

The authority wants to check whether the criminal law has been violated. financial times, who first reported the investigationThe agency said there were “many aspects surrounding Credit Suisse” that warranted an investigation.

Credit Suisse shareholders are also positioning themselves. The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund has announced on its website that it will vote against the re-election of Chairman Axel Lehmann and six other members of the Credit Suisse Supervisory Board. The sovereign wealth fund explained its decision that “shareholders should have the right to make changes to the board if it does not act in their interest.”

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