UBS has intensified its efforts to reduce costs following its hasty acquisition of Credit Suisse completed last year, cutting thousands of jobs to increase earnings.
According to a regulatory filing, the Swiss bank announced on Tuesday its target of $13 billion in savings via cutting down gross costs, by the 2026. This target represents an increase of $3 billion from the figure announced six months prior, as per a report by CNN.
UBS has managed to reduce costs by $4 billion, partly through layoffs, which accounts for nearly one-third of the current targeted amount. In the fourth quarter alone, the company cut more than 3,100 positions, bringing its total headcount to under 113,000.
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UBS's CFO Todd Tuckner revealed that a significant portion of the job cuts in the fourth quarter consisted of staff who were formerly employed in Credit Suisse's investment bank. He also said that many of these layoffs occurred in the United States and the United Kingdom, but were also distributed across various regions worldwide.
For the October-to-December quarter, UBS recorded a net loss of $279 million, marking its second consecutive quarterly loss, which was partially attributed to expenses related to the acquisition deal. This loss follows a $785 million loss in the June-to-September quarter.
In March of last year, UBS agreed to purchase Credit Suisse for $3 billion, as part of a rescue coordinated by Swiss authorities to prevent a banking sector collapse. The transaction, which stood as the largest in banking history, formed a colossal Swiss bank boasting assets exceeding $1.7 trillion.
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