Story by Sumeet Chatterjee and Fiona Lau
UBS Group AG is cutting nearly two dozen jobs in its Asian investment banking business, mainly in Hong Kong and Singapore, as part of a push to slash costs, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The Swiss bank joins rivals in making investment banking cost cuts in Asia as deal volumes remain sluggish. The latest round of job cuts at UBS will be mostly mid-level staff but will also include a few managing directors, said the sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Wall Street banks are grappling with a harsh environment in Asia as the region's economies and markets have failed to deliver sustained growth after the 2008 financial crisis. The banks' business has also been eroded by local competitors, notably aggressive Chinese firms.