Three Firms Where Staff May Feel A Little Nervous

Bloomberg reports that Barclays may need to reduce costs further if it is to stick with the 13% return-on-equity target set for 2013 by Group CEO Bob Diamond last year. 

The news agency quotes Exane BNP Paribas analyst Tom Rayner, who has said: 'The biggest challenge (for Barclays) will be when asked about their return on equity targets and whether or not it's credible without restructuring Barclays Capital more aggressively. Either revenue has to go back to pre-crisis levels with the same cost base, or costs have got to be adjusted in line with a weaker revenue environment'.

Rumors were circulating last week that BarCap is looking to axe around 5% of Executive Directors and Managing Directors globally.

In the meantime, Sky News reports that Australia's Macquarie Bank issued a warning Tuesday that net profits for the 12 months to 31st March would likely fall by around 25%, and that the bank's securities unit will probably record a loss in the period.

Macquarie has said that it will cut around 10% of the 1,500 front office jobs in the securities unit, and that additional job losses will come from support staff. Bloomberg also reported Monday that the firm confirmed that it may close its European structured products and exotics group.

Finally, Reuters reports that UBS posted a 76% fall in Q4 profit Tuesday. Net income came in at $427m, after the investment bank posted its second consecutive quarterly loss ($278m).

And things remain tough for the investment bank this quarter too. UBS said: 'Traditional improvements in first-quarter activity levels and trading volumes may fail to materialize fully, which would weigh on overall results for the coming quarter, most notably in the investment bank'.

UBS also said that it was making progress on delivering on plans to cut headcount by 4,000, with total staff down 1,101 in the quarter.

More ominously, the bank warned: 'UBS will continue to seek additional efficiences by exploring opportunities to lower the structural cost base of the firm. In addition, if market conditions deteriorate materially, UBS will take undertake further measures to reduce its cost base'.