The Unbanking of Europe

This is a very painful process but a highly necessary one.  While the financial sector gradually shrinks here in the US, both by employee headcount and as a percentage of total GDP, Europe has essentially pulled out the meat cleaver.  The banking layoffs across the Atlantic are reminiscent of a scene right out of Hostel…

From Bloomberg:

UBS AG (UBSN)’s decision to cut 5 percent of its workforce brings to more than 40,000 the number of jobs cut by European banks in the past month as the region’s worsening sovereign debt crisis crimps trading revenue.

UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, said yesterday it will eliminate 3,500 jobs, mainly from its investment bank. It follows HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), which announced 30,000 cuts on Aug. 1, Barclays Plc (BARC), which is cutting headcount by 3,000, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS), which is eliminating 2,000 posts. Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) announced 2,000 reductions on July 28.

European banks are slashing jobs this year six times faster than their U.S. peers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg…

Again, painful but necessary as the global economy unbanks itself.

Source:

European Bank Job ‘Bloodbath’ Surpasses 40,000 (Bloomberg)