Real estate head is one of more than two dozen Australian employees to leave in first wave of job cuts
Credit Suisse’s Australian head of real estate is one of more than two dozen local employees to depart so far as the Swiss bank implements a global restructure.
Rahul Bharara, local head of real estate, is exiting as the bank slashes its workforce, according to a report by The Australian. Investment banking co-head Angelo Scessarra is resigning amid the restructure.
Credit Suisse announced that it would reduce staff globally by 5%, or 2,700 employees, by the end of the year in a fist wave of cuts. Some sources told The Australian that the rate of cuts for the bank’s 400-strong Australian workforce could be as high as 10%, although Credit Suisse sources insisted that the reduction level for the country is only 5%.
So far, at least 27 employees have been handed their walking papers, sources told the publication.
In recent days, as many as nine staff members have been sacked from the bank’s local arm, adding to an earlier round of job cuts last week at Credit Suisse Australia, which affected the investment bank and capital markets teams.
Bharara has been head of investment banking for real estate since August 2020. Before that, he served as a real estate investment banking director, The Australian reported.
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Scessarra announced on Thursday that he would resign and leave the bank early next year after 18 years with the bank. Head of corporate derivatives Veronika Kaufman is also leaving the bank, taking a position with UBS.
The departures come after the Swiss banking giant announced plans to slash up to 9,000 jobs globally on the heels of posting a $1.56 billion loss in the first half of 2022.
A spokeswoman for Credit Suisse Australia said the bank is planning to reduce global headcount from 52,000 full-time employees to 43,000, “reflecting natural attrition and targeted headcount reductions.”
“A headcount reduction of 2,700 full-time-equivalent employees, or 5% of the group’s workforce, is already underway in the fourth quarter of 2022,” she told The Australian. “Australia represents exciting opportunities and remains a key pillar of growth for the bank globally and in the region.”
Credit Suisse is one of several investment banks that have been slashing jobs. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are both reported to have cut positions this year as deal flow in equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions has stagnated.
