Feb 14, 2022
HSBC trims private bank staff and reduces office space in Switzerland
HSBC is cutting 110 support staff in Switzerland and scaling back its office space in Geneva following a bad year for its Swiss private bank, during which wealthy clients withdrew a net $1bn of their money. Employees at the lender's Quai des Bergues office in the city centre were told on Monday last week that two floors of the building would be shut down and more staff would have to share desks "To help use our office space in the most efficient way". The cost-cutting measures also reflect the pressure on its Swiss private bank as it prepares to reveal another bad year, which stands in stark contrast to a buoyant period for larger rivals. While HSBC has pledged to invest $3.5bn and hire more than 5,000 wealth advisers in China and across Asia, morale is low in the European arm of the business, according to several staff spoken to by the FT. It has underperformed the rest of the group for years and felt the brunt of job, costs and asset cuts as capital and resources are shifted to more profitable markets in Asia. A spokesman for the bank said that the Geneva job cuts would have no impact on front-office services and added that HSBC would continue to hire relationship managers and investment counsellors in the coming years.
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