According to two people with knowledge of the situation, UBS promised retention benefits to Credit Suisse wealth management employees in Asia as the bank strives to stop a brain drain following the acquisition of its erstwhile Swiss rival.
Iqbal Khan, the head of UBS for global wealth management, also emphasised stabilising the Credit Suisse Asia team and boosting confidence in his town hall speech on Friday in Hong Kong, according to one of the two sources.
According to the second source, Khan stated in his talk that the Credit Suisse wealth business’ top performers would receive retention rewards. The retention package’s specifics weren’t immediately clear.
Because they were not authorised to speak to the media, the sources declined to give their names.
Credit Suisse and UBS spokesman declined to comment.
On Friday, Bloomberg was the first to publish the development.
According to the first source and a third person with knowledge of the situation, Khan, a former senior Credit Suisse banker, hosted the town hall alongside Francesco de Ferrari, Credit Suisse’s CEO for wealth management.
UBS informed Credit Suisse wealth bankers this week in Zurich that it is considering financial inducements for them to remain as it looks to reassure key employees following the acquisition, according to Reuters on Monday.
As part of a deal supported by a sizable Swiss government guarantee and anticipated to finish by the end of 2023, UBS announced on Sunday that it will pay 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) for the 167-year-old Credit Suisse and assume at least $5.4 billion in losses.
