HSBC will shed 30,000 jobs as it retreats from countries where it is struggling to compete, Europe's biggest bank said on Monday after reporting a surprise rise in first-half profit.
Here are some details about job cut announcements in major European banks:
* HSBC:
- The bank announced on August 1 it had cut 5,000 jobs following restructuring of operations in Latin America, the United States, Britain, France and the Middle East, and that it would cut a further 25,000 between now and 2013. The cuts equate to roughly 10 percent of HSBC's total workforce.
* CREDIT SUISSE:
- Announced on July 28 it is cutting about 2,000 jobs after weak trading activity and the strong Swiss franc hit second-quarter results. Switzerland's second-biggest bank said it planned to cut about 4 percent of its staff of 50,700.
- Chief Financial Officer David Mathers said the cost cuts, aimed at shaving 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.28 billion) from the expense run-rate during 2012, would hit all divisions but particularly the investment bank, and all geographies.
* UBS:
- Switzerland's UBS will slash jobs and review the future of its fixed-income business after the underperforming unit hit second-quarter profit and forced it to push back targets.
- The bank said on July 26 it would cut costs by between 1.5 billion and 2 billion Swiss francs in the next two to three years, and would likely book “significant restructuring charges” later this year.
- UBS will cut costs across all divisions, although it was too early to say how many jobs would go, Chief Financial Officer Tom Naratil said. Switzerland's biggest bank, which had to be rescued by the state in 2008 after massive losses on toxic assets, slashed the number of staff to around 64,000 from around 78,000 before the financial crisis, but this had grown again since 2010 to 65,700.
* RABOBANK:
- Dutch lender Rabobank said on July 13 it plans to cut more than 1,200 jobs in areas such as IT at its head office, seeking cost-savings of 219 million euros ($314.7 million) over the next two years. Rabobank plans to cut 376, or 6 percent, out of 6,400 permanent jobs at its headquarters, and about 850 contract positions will be cut in 2012 and 2013.
* LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC:
- Lloyds said on June 30 it will axe 15,000 jobs and halve its international presence, a plan its new boss, Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio, hopes will save 1.5 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) a year by 2014 and return the part-nationalised British bank to health.
- The latest cuts for Lloyds, Europe's seventh-biggest bank by market value, will add to the 27,000 job losses since the 2008 financial crisis. It employs 103,000 staff.
* BANCO POPOLARE:
- Italian lender Banco Popolare aims nearly to double net profit by 2013 under a business plan that calls for streamlined operations. The bank said on June 30 it would cut 1,120 jobs and shift 1,100 workers to boost its retail network. Popolare has more than 20,000 employees.
* INTESA SANPAOLO:
- Intesa Sanpaolo aims to cut costs by about 770 million euros by 2013 through greater efficiency, including trimming 3,000 jobs, it said in a statement on April 6. - Reuters