BNP slashing investment banking jobs
(14 April 2016 – France) As part of restructures in reaction to more stringent regulatory requirements in Europe, BNP Paribas has said that it is planning to cut around 11 percent of its French investment banking workforce.
The firm will cut around 675 jobs over the next three years in a bid to save €1 billion (A$1.46 billion) annually in its investment bank by 2019.
BNP said the downsizing would be done exclusively through voluntary redundancies. There are about 30,000 people in BNP corporate and institutional banking, including about 6,000 in France.
Earlier this year, the bank announced that it was reducing exposure to many of the more capital intensive parts of its operations. BNP Paribas wants to take on less balance sheet risk, which is increasingly expensive, and expand its “flow” businesses such as securities services for asset managers and cash management for corporates.
The news comes at a time when Europe’s biggest banks face pressure to boost profits amid tighter regulatory frameworks, record-low interest rates and volatile financial markets.
Credit Suisse last month announced plans to cut an additional 2,000 jobs at its securities unit in a push to focus on wealth management. Morgan Stanley said late last year that it would cull 1,200 jobs in fixed income and back-office.
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