Credit Suisse has told its wealth staff to brush up on their resumes and personal development plans ahead of a selection process for career progression amid integration with the its larger rival UBS Group AG.
The selection will yield a batch of management appointments, known internally as GEB-2, by no later than mid-July while the process for other roles will start afterwards, according to an internal memo from Yves-Alain Sommerhalder, head of Credit Suisse wealth management, and the division’s human resources chief Lars van den Bosch.
“Ahead of the selection process and as the two organizations come together, it’s important that we are all as best prepared as possible by showcasing our latest experience and skillset,” the memo said.
A Credit Suisse spokeswoman declined to comment.
UBS is planning to cut more than half of Credit Suisse’s 45,000-strong workforce after a government-brokered rescue, with the first round expected by the end of July and two more rounds tentatively planned for September and October, people familiar with the matter said last week. Bankers, traders and support staff in Credit Suisse’s investment bank in London, New York, and in some parts of Asia are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts, with almost all activities at risk.
The combined firm’s executive ranks already display UBS’s dominance. The executive board contains only one Credit Suisse holdover, Ulrich Koerner, who remains CEO of the acquired bank. In the key wealth management unit, only five of the more than two dozen leadership appointments come from Credit Suisse.
In Asia, UBS plans to retain a few hundred Credit Suisse private bankers in the Asia Pacific region, bringing its total to more than 1,200 in one of the few areas spared from deep cuts, Bloomberg reported last month.
