Credit Suisse employees are faced with an ice-cold wind as their bank is paring costs. Still, a dozen of them voluntarily jumped into an even colder Irish Sea – and not to acclimatize to the cold.

North Channel is the name the a stretch of the Irish Sea dividing the British Isles from Ireland between Bangor and Stranraer. North Channel is 27 kilometers wide at the narrowest point, rarely warmer than 14 degrees celsius and exposed to sudden weather swings.

None of which kept a dozen employees of Credit Suisse (CS) from taking to the water over the weekend. Clad in neoprene suits and swimming caps they jump into the sea to cross the waterway in a relay (pictured below).

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Risky Endeavour

Not an easy task by any measure – not just because of the choppy waters and icy temperatures, but also because the current is so strong that the minimum speed required from the swimmers is 3 kilometers an hour to keep within the tight tidal window, otherwise they risk being swept away.

Being swept away is what many bankers may feel like at CS as it is – the banking giant has already moved hundreds of jobs to Dublin from London and cut scores more – so why going through the arduous task of swimming through the North Channel?

Charitable Purpose

For charity of course: the team collected no less than 20,000 pounds (about 25,000 Swiss francs) for NSPCC, the U.K.-based organization taking care of children (picture below).

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Their selfless effort has won the bankers widespread public acclaim, with social media commentaries celebrating their effort.