Geneva bank cuts workforce by ten per cent
The Geneva-based private bank, Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), is to cut staff levels by ten per cent this year because of weak financial markets.
Spokesman Michael Wiley, confirming a report in the Swiss-French newspaper "Le Temps", said on Thursday that the bank expected to end the year with some 920 staff worldwide, down from 1,010 at the end of 2000.
But he added that there would be few actual lay-offs as the bank's natural turnover was around ten per cent a year.
In some areas, such as hedge funds, the bank intends to recruit new people because it viewed this sector as ripe for expansion.
"We feel that the strongest performance will be in hedge funds and other alternative forms of asset management," he said.
UBP expected that traditional assets - stocks and bonds - would see little recovery over the coming 18 months, he added.
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