For some complex customers, such as large enterprises, the migration will begin this year, she adds. The rest of the clients should be transferred to UBS systems by New Year’s Eve 2025, she continues. The merger of the two banks is accompanied by a significant reduction in the number of branches. According to the director of UBS Switzerland, the aim is for the merged bank to have only 194 branches in Switzerland. Currently, UBS has 190 and Credit Suisse 95.
Nearly 1000 job cuts
The branches of UBS and Credit Suisse have already been brought together in five locations as part of a pilot test. The choice fell on the site with the largest surface area, because the customer advisors have to move with their systems until the customers migrate, explains the manager. “There needs to be room for more advisors.” The first tests are conclusive, notes Sabine Keller-Busse. “The introduction involves a one-off expense, but it allows us to quickly close excess branches.”
For the manager, the credit granting procedures of Credit Suisse and UBS are “very similar”. “The differences appear especially in special operations,” she says. The merger of the two banks should cause nearly 1,000 job cuts, confirms the director of UBS Switzerland. Layoffs linked to Swiss activities will begin in the second half of the year. “With the migration to the UBS platform, back-office colleagues will be more affected.”
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