Juerg Zeltner, the head of wealth management at UBS, in May announced that he was about to wield the axe within his division to cut costs. He has now started to take action.
Half a year ago, «Reuters» first reported about an impending reorganization at UBS wealth management aimed at saving hundreds of millions. Part of the deal were to be job cuts.
Last night, the newswire carried a report on which area within wealth management would looe the most people: citing three unidentified sources, «Reuters» said that the bank would cut several dozen jobs at investment products and services (IPS). Some of the employees who are set to loose their jobs may yet get other positions within the bank, according to the report.
UBS plans to save 2.1 billion francs within a year, it said last week.
Monitoring Front Desk Performance
Switzerland's biggest bank created IPS in 2010 as a products and services unit for the bank at large. It has since hired a substantial number of people, not least in Switzerland. UBS wanted IPS to sharpen the bank's focus on a sustainable investment performance for its clients.
But the unit also received the task to monitor the performance of its relationship managers and support them with expertise in their exchange with customers. With the onset of tax disputes in several countries, IPS suddenly had plenty of work on its hands.
It may make sense to cut costs at this service provider from a process point of view. But with an eye on potential future legal disputes, this may yet prove a tricky decision.
