The exodus of top talent at Credit Suisse continues, with at least 120 high-ranking investment bankers having left the Swiss bank.
Several major international banks are seizing the opportunities to continue poaching senior bankers and top talent from Credit Suisse. Deutsche Bank alone has hired around 40 former Credit Suisse bankers worldwide, and US investment bank Jefferies has brought no less than 25 on board.
Meanwhile, Spanish bank Santander has hired more than 20 top investment bankers under its CEO Hector Grisi, who previously worked at Credit Suisse for 18 years, the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) reported, citing informed sources.
Higher Churn Rate
At least 16 other banks have hired individuals and teams, with more new hires expected in the coming weeks, it said.
The churn rate at Credit Suisse's investment bank is higher than UBS expected before the integration work began, according to the sources.
Less Generous Severance Packages
Conversely, it also means UBS needs less substantial severance packages. To be sure, it wants to retain Credit Suisse's talent in areas such as healthcare and technology to expand its business in the US and Asia Pacific.
But most investment bankers who moved to other institutions would have been let go and received severance packages, people involved in the talks at UBS said. «We know who we want to keep and with these individuals, there is no issue with attrition,» one of the sources told the FT.
Deeper Cuts
The lack of activity at the Credit Suisse investment bank since the takeover has prompted UBS management to make deeper cuts in the unit, the report adds.
Other banks that have cut staff since the collapse of Credit Suisse in March include Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Macquarie, and Wells Fargo.
