UBS Group AG is cutting Asia wealth-management jobs in the low hundreds, just months after completing its takeover of rival Credit Suisse as the bank responds to muted client activity and China’s slowing economy.
UBS is battling muted client sentiment and activity levels in Asia-Pacific, where the regional business hub of Hong Kong has long been a booking center along with Singapore for China’s ultra-wealthy. The wealth management unit’s profit before tax in the region fell by 9% in the second quarter from a year earlier.
The reductions come as other banks such as Barclays Plc and Goldman Sachs Group also trim headcount. Barclays plans to dismiss about 5% of client-facing staff in the trading division as well as some dealmakers globally as part of the cuts, Bloomberg News has reported. ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW UBS, based in Zurich, completed its 3 billion franc purchase of the smaller Swiss firm following an emergency government-brokered deal earlier this year.