What are Credit Suisse's lingering French bankers actually working on?
As Credit Suisse is subsumed by UBS, its bankers are either being let go or are moving across to work for their new owners. In London, insiders at the French bank say the investment banking secondment and severance process is complete. In Paris, it isn't.
As we reported last week, some Credit Suisse bankers in the French capital have been informed that they're wanted by UBS. Many, however, have not. And while the lingering Parisian bankers wait to find out their fate, insiders say they have very little to do.
"There are almost no ongoing deals at Credit Suisse right now," says one French banker who left earlier this year. "A lot of people are just in the building with no work."
In London, one Credit Suisse banker on secondment to UBS says the office was "dead" before he moved. However, he says there were a few outstanding deals and that they migrated with him to UBS.
While Credit Suisse's lurking bankers are desperately trying to appear busy, residual staff in other teams still have work to do. "There are ongoing legacy trades and duties to fulfill until the last dollar is settled," says one trader.
The ex-Deutsche Bank employees in Credit Suisse's non-core unit will be busy for a while. So, too, will its allegedly under-resourced HR team, which is busy offboarding thousands of employees.
Any Credit Suisse people with nothing to work on could always move elsewhere. There are rumours that the Swiss bank has stopped demanding that last year's bonuses are clawed back, meaning people are free to go on their way. The fact that they're clining on is indicative of the sorry state of the current hiring market.
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