Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksBarclays Share News (BARC)

Share Price Information for Barclays (BARC)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 202.35
Bid: 202.15
Ask: 202.25
Change: 1.35 (0.67%)
Spread: 0.10 (0.049%)
Open: 202.50
High: 203.40
Low: 199.58
Prev. Close: 201.00
BARC Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

RPT-European banks poised for job cuts in 2016 profit drive

Tue, 22nd Dec 2015 08:15

(Repeats Monday story without change)

* Europe's 10 biggest banks announced 130,000 job cuts sinceJune

* Investors expect lenders to cut further, faster

* Retail, investment banking likely to be hit hardest

* Technology changes mean many jobs gone for good

By Anjuli Davies, Sinead Cruise and Steve Slater

LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Regulation, anaemic economicgrowth and technology changes will force banks across Europe tofind more savings in 2016, with jobs likely to be the biggestcasualty, according to investors and analysts.

Ten of the region's biggest banks have announced staff cutsof 130,000 since June, according to data compiled by Reuters more than the total number of job losses announced by thosebanks in 2013 and 2014. But investors believe the industry willneed to slim down further and faster to boost profits.

"The perpetrators of 2008 still need to pay a penance andmust shrink balance sheets in so doing," said Jamie Clark,co-manager on the Liontrust Macro Thematic team, referring tothe banking crisis that triggered a deep global recession fromwhich several of the world's largest economies are stillrecovering.

"We read job cuts as only one sign of the secular, ratherthan cyclical trend to permanently smaller banks."

Tens of thousands of staff were axed during and after the2007/09 financial crisis but the fresh wave of cuts in Europeshows how the region's banks are trailing their U.S.counterparts in bringing in structural overhauls.

In 2014 and 2013 a combined 78,000 job cuts were announcedat eighteen of Europe's largest banks, which represented 4.1percent of staff, was far less than cuts of 7.3 percent inheadcount across six major U.S. banks.

An IMF study last year of 300 large global banks showed thatonly about 30 percent of euro zone lenders had a structure thatwas able to make a reasonable rate of return over time, comparedwith 80 percent of those in the U.S.

"U.S. banks have mainly done what's needed to be done andare on an upward curve" said Chris Wheeler, bank analyst atAtlantic Equities.

"Then you have the 'Road to Damascus banks'. They've finallyrealized that the market won't bail them out and they have tomake some fundamental changes - Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse,Barclays. It's going to be a year of major change that, in mostcases, won't be completed for a number of years."

Dutch lender Rabobank became the latest to wield the axe,announcing this month that it would cut 9,000 jobs, joiningDeutsche Bank, UniCredit, Credit Suisse, HSBC and StandardChartered in announcing workforce culls in the second half of2015.

BANKING JOBS 'BEAR MARKET'

While some cuts will come from selling off businesses, newtechnology is also contributing as banks close branches andshift to systems requiring less manpower.

"We're in a long term bear market for banking jobs as we'refinally seeing technology and automation taking out jobs inretail banking," Xavier VanHove, partner at fund manager THSPartners told Reuters.

A lagging European economy is also adding to banks' woes.While the U.S. Federal Reserve has begun raising interest ratesits counterpart in Europe is contemplating further monetaryeasing, which could eat into banks' interest margins.

Many European banks are soul searching in particular aboutwhat the future shape of their investment banks will be, withtheir trading divisions under the spotlight as greater capitalrequirements and technological automation squeeze margins.

European banks who make quick cuts to their headcount andbusiness lines could pull their returns closer to their U.S.peers by 2017, Morgan Stanley analysts estimate, narrowing a gapof between 3 to 4 percent percentage points.

"European return on leverage exposure is roughly half thatof U.S. firms. Pruning underperforming units, intensecost-cutting and revitalising high return-on-equity (RoE) areawill be key," the analysts said in a recent note.

A new CEO at Barclays is expected to axe more jobs, and hasalready started cutting in the investment bank, mostly in Asia,sources have said.

"The crux of cuts in investment banking fall in FICC (fixedincome, commodities and currencies), where things are reallydifficult....It's more structural than short term," saidStephane Rambosson, managing director at executive search firm,DHR International.

"It's like in the 80s. There were a million miners whoconverted into different jobs. I am sure in this industry, theywill do that as well."

BNP Paribas, France's biggest listed lender may makesignificant middle and back office job cuts in 2016 as part of aplan to cut costs by 20 percent in its investment bank thatincludes using "big data" technology to identify customer needs,Reuters reported in October.

That may seem small compared to cuts in coming years.

Former Barclays CEO Antony Jenkins has said banks could cutup to half their jobs in the next decade due to the impact oftechnological and regulatory change, with the people overseeingbanks' systems likely to replace investment bankers as theirmost influential decision makers.

"The next CEO for banks is the chief information officer orthe chief technology officer. They're the new king or queen,"said Bill Michael, global head of banking at KPMG.

(Editing by Anna Willard)

More News
23 Jan 2024 12:37

UK Chancellor Hunt meets top UK bank heads over plans to boost City

(Alliance News) - Jeremy Hunt has met the UK's biggest banks as part of efforts among the government to boost interest in the City.

Read more
22 Jan 2024 17:14

European shares rise as Wall Street rallies; ECB decision in focus

Kindred jumps on takeover bid from FDJ

*

Read more
22 Jan 2024 16:59

London stocks climb as homebuilders shine, China weakness drags miners

Barclays up after bullish view from MS

*

Read more
22 Jan 2024 08:34

LONDON MARKET OPEN: FTSE 100 follows New York into the green

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Monday, propelled by gains on Wall Street at the end of last week.

Read more
19 Jan 2024 09:28

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: BofA cuts Pearson, raises Just Eat Takeaway

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Friday morning and Thursday:

Read more
18 Jan 2024 14:33

Britain's finance minister Hunt to quiz bank bosses on UK lending

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt will meet the bosses of top British banks next Tuesday to seek reassurance they can keep lending to the economy, four sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Read more
18 Jan 2024 09:26

Sainsbury's to gradually withdraw from banking

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - British supermarket Sainsbury's said on Thursday it would wind down its banking business and instead offer financial products through third parties, as part of a strategy to focus on its core retail operations.

Read more
17 Jan 2024 18:39

Bank CEOs, huddled in private in Davos, worry about competition, economy - sources

DAVOS, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Bank CEOs meeting in private at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday aired concerns about the competitive risks from fintech firms and private lenders, and complained about onerous regulations, a source familiar with the matter said.

Read more
16 Jan 2024 12:51

Ex-Barclays duo agree Panmure and Liberum investment bank merger

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Former Barclays veterans Bob Diamond and Rich Ricci have agreed an all-share merger of Panmure Gordon and UK rival Liberum, the firms said on Tuesday, creating Britain's largest independent investment bank amid an extended dealmaking slump.

Read more
16 Jan 2024 09:14

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: UBS raises GSK and cuts AstraZeneca

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Tuesday morning:

Read more
16 Jan 2024 08:21

TOP NEWS: Panmure Gordon and Liberum merge to "reinvigorate" UK market

(Alliance News) - City brokers Panmure Gordon and Liberum on Tuesday said they have agreed an all-share merger that will create the "UK's largest independent investment bank" with over 250 quoted corporate clients.

Read more
15 Jan 2024 06:01

London finance job vacancies slumped nearly 40% in 2023, recruiter says

LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Job opportunities in London's financial sector plummeted nearly 40% last year, recruiter Morgan McKinley said on Monday, as market turbulence and high inflation led employers to tighten their belts on costs.

Read more
11 Jan 2024 17:03

M&S shares, Wall Street sell-off drag FTSE lower

U.S. inflation data sparks selloff

*

Read more
11 Jan 2024 11:36

UK finance watchdog probes possible motor finance misconduct

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Britain's finance watchdog said on Thursday it would start looking into the motor finance industry, amid rising tensions between thousands of consumers and finance providers about commission arrangements.

Read more
11 Jan 2024 09:26

TOP NEWS: Big Yellow rent hike saves revenue from decreased occupancy

(Alliance News) - Big Yellow Group PLC on Thursday said that revenue and lettable area had increased despite occupancy dropping during the "seasonally weaker third quarter".

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.