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Credit Suisse is slashing a key trading business - and a lot of people are going to get fired

Ben Moshinsky   

Credit Suisse is slashing a key trading business - and a lot of people are going to get fired
Finance1 min read

Pity the poor macro trader.

Macro trading, which involves products such as interest rate derivatives and foreign exchange, is no longer the revenue driver it used to be.

Hit by tougher capital rules, market manipulation scandals and a global economic slump, the business area has struggled.

And so Credit Suisse, which announced an overhaul of its strategy on Wednesday, is largely shutting its macro business in Asia and Europe.

The bank said it would cut 2,000 positions in London - macro traders among them - as it refocuses towards its Swiss base and wealth management.

Credit Suisse's investment bank posted a pretax loss of CHF125 million francs ($131 million) in the third quarter, down from a profit of CHF516 million ($525 million) last year.

Here's the chart that shows how the macro trading business was a drain on the bank's capital resources, and just not bringing enough money to stay open.

The yellow line shows that the average return on capital Credit Suisse is looking for is 12.5%:

CS Macro 2

Credit Suisse

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