Credit Suisse cuts most Japan investment banking staff -sources

By Makiko Yamazaki and Anshuman Daga

TOKYO (Reuters) -Credit Suisse Group has cut most of the 20-plus jobs at its investment banking division in Japan, three people familiar with the matter said, as the embattled Swiss bank revamps its business globally.

The move is part of a major overhaul at the loss-making bank after a string of heavy losses and scandals threatened its survival.

Credit Suisse's investment banking division, which houses capital markets and M&A advisory businesses, has undertaken a two-phase restructuring in Japan, nearly halving the number of its bankers in November and then shedding all but a few in January, two of the people said.

The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to talk to the media.

"Credit Suisse remains committed to our investment banking & capital markets clients throughout the APAC (Asia Pacific) region," the company told Reuters in response to a query.

"Our global franchise will continue to work with clients in all key markets including Japan, as it has done for many years," it said.

Credit Suisse's restructuring plan includes creating a separate unit for its investment bank under the CS First Boston brand. As part of this, it is carving out the business with veteran banker Michael Klein at the helm. Credit Suisse will focus on managing money for the wealthy after the revamp.

Reuters was not immediately able to ascertain whether the few remaining staff at Credit Suisse's Japanese investment banking division would be shifted to the new unit.

Credit Suisse also runs wealth management, equity research, securities trading and asset management businesses in Japan.

The bank ranked eleventh in Japan's investment banking league table in 2021, but fell out of the top 20 in 2022, according to data compiled by Refinitiv.

Some of the major deals that Credit Suisse advised on in Japan included Hitachi Ltd's $9.6 billion acquisition of U.S. software company GlobalLogic Inc.

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Anshuman Daga; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Mark Potter)