No one knows where the journey is going

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The frustration and anger of Credit Suisse employees knows no bounds: “The mood is bad and sarcastic,” says a CS employee in the city of Zurich. The message of internal communication is always the same: “Stay strong, we need you!” But the man in his mid-thirties says, “Everyone knows that not many will stay.”

For himself and everyone else affected, the uncertainty is almost unbearable. It will probably take some time before it becomes clear what the merger of the two big banks will look like, at least because of the change at the top of UBS.

Sergio Ermotti (62) will take the helm on April 5th. A source with knowledge of what’s going on at the bank will first get an overview and then make the initial decisions.

executives met

After all: On Tuesday, as SonntagsBlick knows, a first meeting was held between delegations from the management of UBS Switzerland and CS Switzerland, led by country presidents Sabine Keller-Busse (56) from UBS and André Helfenstein (56) from CS.

But UBS continues to keep to itself how to defragment the volumes. Internally, this information is stated to be sensitive for legal reasons until the takeover is formally completed. The only thing that has leaked so far is that the Credit Suisse brand will stay in place for another three or four years, but then disappear. Scenarios envisioning the later split of Credit Suisse’s Swiss business are also under investigation, although reports suggest that UBS does not find this variant particularly attractive.

With Ermotti’s appointment, UBS’s chances of continuing to run the local division of Credit Suisse as an independent bank are likely to be diminished. According to a report in “Bilanz” magazine, the Ticino native is said to have played a role in taking over his longtime rival seven years ago, when he first became CEO of UBS.

Don’t worry about the size

Yesterday, Saturday, Ermotti also told the Italian newspaper “Il Sole 24 Ore” that the problem of oversize has not arisen. When it comes to lending only to multinational companies, other Swiss banks cannot come close to the position of the “new” UBS. “But we will compete with foreign banks in this segment,” says Ermotti.

It doesn’t look like a split. However, it is now becoming clear that the consolidation of operations in Switzerland is much more sensitive than, for example, the previously announced downsizing of investment banking. The political pressure is huge. Thousands of jobs are also at stake. The main reason why the bank did not materialize its Swiss plans is probably fear of slipping on this slippery ground.

But with each passing day, the uncertainty between customers and employees increases. The CS banker SonntagsBlick spoke to knows many of his colleagues who submitted his notice of termination last Friday, at the end of the month. They are tired of waiting, not knowing what to expect. “They also accept a lower salary or a lower position in CS than they currently hold,” the informant says.

Credit Suisse does not comment on departures

The Credit Suisse media office did not want to answer SonntagsBlick’s questions about possible immigration. However, there is evidence that the competition reports newcomers from former CS employees almost weekly. According to the finance blog “Inside Paradeplatz”, CS management offers so-called retention bonuses to their most important employees to stay.

In addition to Credit Suisse, the uncertainty in UBS is also huge. “There is also uncertainty at the moment about what the takeover will mean for their future,” says Natalia Ferrara, Managing Director of the Swiss Bankers Association. This is why the association calls for a freeze on layoffs until the end of the year – that is, until it becomes clear where the new megabank’s journey is headed.

Source :Blick