The consolidation in Swiss private banking is leading to further job cuts: the divestment of Bank Hapoalim’s Swiss operations will claim the positions of five out of six employees.
Bank Hapoalim a year ago announced a plan to sell its private banking operations in Switzerland and Luxembourg to J. Safra Sarasin. As it turns out, the sale also will claim most of the jobs involved, according to a report by «Sonntagszeitung» (behind paywall).
Of the 120 jobs based in Zurich, about 100 will be eliminated, the paper said. Only relationship advisers and some administrative staff will keep their jobs, once J. Safra Sarasin has completed the acquisition.
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Hapoalim’s chief financial officer, Bernard Fishman, told the newspaper that the divestment was taking time and that employees would be let go in stages. The transfer of client assets was slated for the first half of 2018.
The Israel-based bank expects the closure of Hapoalim Switzerland to cost more than 30 million Swiss francs, mostly to compensate staff who face losing their jobs as well as to pay for terminating long-term lease contracts.
Hapoalim is working on a voluntary redundancy plan for its staff in Switzerland, Fishman also told «Sonntagszeitung».
