Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) has axed about one-third of its China-based investment banking team and almost 50% of its research department, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as part of a global revamp and as its China business slows.
The sources refused to be named as the information is confidential. Credit Suisse would not provide specific comments on the job cuts in China when reached by reporters. Two sources said that over 20 China-based investment bankers have been informed about the layoffs at Credit Suisse Securities (China), the bank’s 51%-owned joint venture.
Credit Suisse’s China annual report indicates it had sixty-eight employees in its investment banking department at the end of 2021.
Faced with tight COVID-19 curbs and weak growth in the world’s second-biggest economy, Wall Street banks have been getting ready to lay off China-focused staff in Asia, sources have said.
Reports emerged in November that Morgan Stanley (MS.N) was ready to announce layoffs globally, with teams focusing on China-related business receiving the impact.
At Credit Suisse’s China venture, around 10 research staff have been fired, the sources said. The department had twenty-four employees as of the end of 2021, based on its annual report. Earlier in November, Reuters reported that the bank was cutting jobs in Asia, including eight positions based in Southeast Asia.
Buy Crypto NowIn October, Credit Suisse announced a 4 billion Swiss franc ($4.18 billion) capital raising and thousands of layoffs as it plans to cut down its scandal-hit investment bank in a shift towards banking for the affluent.
The bank’s Asia Pacific CEO Edwin Low told Reuters earlier in November that “China and Hong Kong will be the biggest growth market” for Asia Pacific headcount, as it plans to begin offering wealth management services in China in 2023 after acquiring full ownership of its local securities venture.
($1 = 7.1637 Chinese yuan renminbi)
($1 = 0.9566 Swiss francs)
