Swiss bank UBS said this morning it was cutting a further 8,700 jobs as losses from the global financial crisis mount.
UBS said it would post a first-quarter loss of nearly 2 billion Swiss francs ($1.74 billion) and cut 8,700 jobs as it struggles to recover from the crisis.
Chief executive officer Oswald Gruebel, who was called out of retirement in February, said there are no “quick fixes” to restore profit after the biggest credit-related writedowns of any European bank.
Job cuts, along with reductions in marketing, sponsorships and consulting costs, will help save as much as 4 billion francs by the end of 2010, UBS said.
"It’s back to basics,” said Andy Lynch, who helps manage about $5 billion at Schroder Investment Management in London.
“UBS, in common with every other financial institution, is looking to cut costs” and will probably cut back in trading while focusing on its “private banking heritage”.
UBS said it is conducting a review to exit “high-risk and unpromising” businesses. The bank said it will maintain operations in international wealth management and Swiss banking, alongside asset management and investment banking.
“It will be a long road back to success,” Gruebel said in a speech prepared for delivery at the bank’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Zurich.
“Markets remain extremely unstable. That’s why we are acting today by rigorously adjusting the size of our bank and cutting costs significantly once again.”
UBS has fallen 11 per cent this year in Swiss trading, cutting the company’s market value to 38.9 billion Swiss francs.
That compares with a 2.1 per cent gain in the 65-member Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index.
Financial institutions worldwide announced almost 300,000 job cuts since the beginning of the credit crisis as writedowns and losses swelled to $1.3 trillion.
Agencies