The Financial Times reports that Morgan Stanley is this week to complete wielding the job axe to up 100 sales and trading staff. According to the newspaper's sources, the cuts are impacting staff in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
In the meantime, Bloomberg reports that investment bankers in Europe are girding for a second wave of job cuts in less than a year after the euro area’s debt crisis drove fees from mergers and securities underwriting to a nine-year low.
According to the news organisation, Credit Suisse and UBS face the most pressure to boost efficiency as Switzerland runs ahead of others in introducing tougher capital and liquidity rules to curtail risk-taking, making some businesses unviable. The banks’ securities units had the highest costs as a proportion of revenue among a group of the 12 largest firms in Europe and the U.S. last year, Morgan Stanley analysts Hubert Lam and Huw van Steenis wrote in a May 24 note.
While the situation may be most acute at Credit Suisse and UBS, similar dynamics are at work at other firms as the debt crisis drags on, capital requirements ratchet higher and economic growth grinds to a halt.
'Bankers are really gloomy and a lot of people are worried about their jobs', said Edward Cumming-Bruce, a partner at London-based advisory firm Gleacher Shacklock LLP who has more than 20 years’ experience. 'Banks are under remorseless pressure to cut costs and balance sheets as we witness a significant change in the way the financial industry works'.
Hit the link below to access the complete Bloomberg article:
Investment Bankers Face Termination as Europe Fees Fall
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