Tens of thousands of employees are expected to be laid off after Swiss bank UBS bailed out rival Credit Suisse.

Tens of thousands of employees could be laid off as the world talks about the UBS acquisition of Credit Suisse.

Tens of thousands of people are threatened with unemployment as Switzerland’s financial sector prepares to take a heavy blow from the contentious takeover. According to sources speaking to the Financial Times, various liquidations will be made from the domestic business of Credit Suisse and its investment bank division, which employs a total of 30,000 personnel.

As part of the bailout package prepared by the Swiss government, UBS Group bought Credit Suisse, which has been operating for 167 years, for 3 billion Swiss francs and assumed the bank’s 5.4 billion dollars debt.

Following the acquisition, UBS will liquidate most of Credit Suisse’s investment bank unit, according to sources. UBS, which has 74,000 employees worldwide, has put on its agenda to remove overlapping roles with Credit Suisse in Switzerland, close branches and reduce staff in administrative positions.

LAUNCHES HAVE STARTED

It is expected that tens of thousands of people will be affected by the liquidations that will take place in the services and units where the two banks overlap. Employing just over 50,000 people at the end of 2022, Credit Suisse has laid off 4,000 employees so far this year.

“The takeover poses a threat of layoffs on a scale that the labor market in the banking sector cannot handle,” the Swiss Bank Employees Association said in a statement yesterday, calling for the layoffs to be halted by the end of the year. The association urged Credit Suisse’s management team to form a task force to manage the risk of mass layoffs.

COST WILL BE REDUCED

Following the announcement of the deal, UBS CEO Ralph Hamers said in a meeting with analysts on Sunday night that he would cut costs of $8 billion a year by 2027. Hamers stated that $6 billion of these cuts will come from staff reductions and $2 billion will be from information technology expenditures.

In a note to a staff member on Monday, Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Körner said that no decision has yet been made regarding employees. “We will work diligently and rapidly over the next period to determine which roles may be affected. “When necessary, we will communicate with affected individuals in line with country-specific guidelines and policies.”

PREMIUM PAYMENTS STOPPED

On the other hand, the Swiss government took a step that punished bankers by stopping Credit Suisse’s premium payments to employees.

The Swiss government said in a statement yesterday that Credit Suisse has decided to suspend “variable wages, which it will give employees later,” until 2022. These variable wages consist of bonuses such as stocks distributed to employees.

The government also stated that it will not stop the premium payments that have been paid this year or are due in a short time, and that this only aims to protect the employees who did not cause the crisis.

It is quite unusual for the government to withhold bonus payments, but the government’s guarantee of about 260 billion francs to save the bank has drawn a strong reaction from the public.

Credit Suisse, in its last annual report published before being sold to UBS, stated that it had reduced its premium budget by 50 percent to 1 billion francs for 2022. Swiss unions yesterday demanded that the managers of the bank not be given bonuses.

In the last ten years in the Netherlands, the rate of social housing rental has been falling due to the insufficient construction of social housing (state-supported living spaces for low-income families) and the spread of private ownership.

Although the Dutch government tries to take various measures to increase this rate, it is considered to be insufficient.

While 30% of the houses in the Netherlands were in the social housing category in 2012, this rate decreased to 27% in 2022 and is expected to decrease to 25.7% in 2030. Although Hugo de Jonge, Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning, announced that they aim to build 250,000 social homes by 2030, this will not prevent this decline.

Egg prices in the Netherlands increased by 4.5% in the first two months of the year, making eggs 25.5% more expensive than last year.

“Grain shortages and reduced exports from Ukraine” are cited as the reason why chicken feed costs continue to rise in the country. This may cause egg prices to continue to rise in the coming period. In addition, bird flu cases in the Netherlands are also affecting egg prices. It is stated that fifty million cases of avian influenza occurred in Europe in 2022 and that six million Dutch chickens were also affected by bird flu.

Bitcoin prices continued to rise on Tuesday amid growing concerns that the Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB) crisis will have a significant contagion effect on the rest of the traditional banking industry.

While the bitcoin price initially tumbled in a risk-free trading environment, the world’s largest cryptocurrency rallied 27% from Friday’s lows to 3-week highs.

For Morgan Stanley stock strategists, this could be Bitcoin’s time to shine.

“Bitcoin was created as a way for everyone to hold value in a private digital wallet without the need for an intermediary bank to hold value for them or facilitate transactions,” the strategists wrote in a client note. he wrote.

However, they warn that the price shows that Bitcoin is not isolated from the traditional banking system.

“Our conclusion is that the Bitcoin network can work without banks, but the price of Bitcoin, and thus its purchasing power, is and continues to be affected by fiat central bank policy and needs banks to facilitate the flow to crypto.”

“If Bitcoin were to be traded with the core value proposition of ‘Be Your Own Bank’ then Bitcoin would rise with increasing uncertainty about banks.”

They also argue that the ongoing rally in Bitcoin is likely the result of “a brief squeeze rather than a fundamental shift in trading dynamics.”

Finally, the strategists also addressed the following question that has been discussed in crypto circles lately:

Will USD depositors convert to Bitcoin due to uncertainty regarding deposit banks?

“Some may transform, but we think it is too early to say that this is a long-term trend. Bitcoin continues to trade in tandem with the growth of the fiat supply (M2) in general. Unless Bitcoin is used significantly as a means of payment, the risky asset trading nature of Bitcoin It will be difficult to get away.”

On Tuesday, Litecoin gained 10.58% to trade at $83,170 on the Investing.com Index. This is the largest one-day increase since November 23, 2022.

With this move, Litecoin market cap was $5,878B, while the ratio of its value in the total cryptocurrency markets was 0.54%. The highest market cap of the Litecoin cryptocurrency was set at $25,609B.

Litecoin has traded between $79,240 and $83,170 in the past 24 hours.

Litecoin has slumped 5.64% over the past seven days, with 24-hour trading volume at $820.474M, or 0.93% by total volume. Litecoin has traded between $65,1000 and $86,6500 in the past seven days.

Litecoin price is 80.20% lower than $420.00 on December 12, 2017.

Developments in the cryptocurrency markets
On the Investing.com Index, Bitcoin gained 14.23% and traded at $25,281.9.

On the Investing.com Index, Ethereum was up 8.42% to trade at $1,716.02.

Bitcoin market cap was $478,952B, or 44.12% of the total market cap, while Ethereum total market cap was $206,554B, or 19,03% of the total market cap.

On Tuesday, Ethereum rose 10.09% to trade at $1,742.54 on the Investing.com Index. This is the largest one-day increase since November 10, 2022.

With this move, the Ethereum market cap was $213.47B, while the ratio of its value in the total crypto money markets was 18.93%. The highest market cap for the Ethereum cryptocurrency was set at $569.58B.

Ethereum has been trading between $1,655.74 and $1,742.54 over the past 24 hours.

Ethereum is up 11.28% over the past seven days, with 24-hour trading volume at $15.30B, or 15.96% by total volume. Ethereum has been trading between $1,371,4655 and $1,742.6299 in the past seven days.

Ethereum price is 64.18% lower than $4,864.06 on November 10, 2021.

Developments in the cryptocurrency markets

On the Investing.com Index, Bitcoin gained 17.80% and traded at $26,177.1.

On the Investing.com Index, Tether was up 0.45% to trade at $1,0058.

Bitcoin market cap was measured at $501.95B, or 44.52% of total market cap, while Tether total market cap was $73.36B, or 6.51% of total market cap.

Famous businessman and writer Robert Kiyosaki renewed his call as a result of the recent macroeconomic developments.

The name, which is well known by the markets, points to Bitcoin and precious metals.

Kiyosaki has been expressing that the Fed’s interest rate policy is not sustainable for a while. After the collapse of three US banks, the expectations of the markets also seem to have evolved into Kiyosaki’s views. Because the 50 basis point rate hike is off the table.

After the release of the US inflation data, the markets began to price the Fed’s 25 basis points interest rate hike as 79%. In addition, the unsustainable monetary tightening has also positively affected the price of Bitcoin (BTC), which is in the risky asset group. BTC price has gained 17% in the last 24 hours, reaching $ 26,400.

According to Robert Kiyosaki, the inflationary process for the US dollar will begin again. Kiyosaki expects this process to bring a crash instead of a soft landing. The author of the book “Rich Dad Poor Dad” called for “more Bitcoin, gold and silver” before the crash.

Bitcoin continued to rise as high as $26,386 as the US CPI data came in 6% year-on-year, in line with expectations, after moving positively throughout the day.

Bitcoin, which dominates the crypto markets, started to see a significant investor demand with the collapse of the last SVB and started a rally in the last 4 days, gaining over 30%. Thus, Bitcoin achieved a significant gain by reaching the price level last seen in June 2022.

After its rise today, Bitcoin continued to increase its value, reaching a market value of half a billion dollars. The entire win was hailed by Bitcoin advocates as the biggest cryptocurrency seen as a safe haven amid the banking crisis. However, the underlying reason for the rise of cryptocurrencies under the leadership of Bitcoin is mostly seen as the view that the Fed will slow down the rate hikes after the effect of the recent crises and finally the inflation data that came in line with the expectations.

As it will be remembered, the bull period in the crypto money markets ended as of November 2021, when the Fed decided to put an end to the expansionary monetary policy and to switch to a tightening monetary policy. Since then, cryptocurrencies have seen a sharp decline due to the negative events experienced within the industry. For example, Bitcoin is currently trading at 60% lower than its peak price of $69,000 in November 2021.

The latest bullish wave has divided the market commentators into two. While some suggest investors take profits after fast-rising prices, those who are more positive about this momentum see the jump as the start of a new bull season.

On the other hand, the rapid rise of Bitcoin caused serious losses to investors who opened a sell position in anticipation of a return. According to Coinglass data, the total liquidation amount in the last 24 hours reached $315 million. 82% of the liquidated positions are short positions.

The cabinet is investigating whether stricter rules are needed for companies in the financial sector to meet their climate targets. According to Ministers Sigrid Kaag (Finance) and Rob Jetten (Climate), the industry is “on track” but not moving fast enough.

The government considers compelling insurers, pension funds and banks, among others, to make efforts to ensure that their financing and investments are in line with the Paris climate targets. It is discussed that companies and institutions may be asked to prepare a climate plan that they have to implement.

Kaag announced last year that he would not shy away from legislation if the financial sector did not go green fast enough. He and Jetten will “engage in dialogue” with the industry because “more input is sought from industry, science, regulators and nonprofits”.

Transition period

Kaag adds that the industry deserves congratulations for showing big goals.

In response, the Dutch Banks Association (NVB) and the Insurers Association, among others, say the entire financial sector wants to take steps to accelerate the sustainability of the economy. According to the organizations, “as a society, a transitional period is required for a gradual shift from fossil fuels to sustainable products, taking into account the affordability and availability of sustainable solutions for citizens and companies.”

Rabobank economists expect house prices to fall 4.2 percent this year.

The bank estimates that prices will not fall further in 2024, in part due to insufficient new construction.
Despite higher mortgage rates and higher inflation, economists at the bank are seeing owner-occupied homes become more affordable. “This is because of falling home prices and rising wages,” says Stefan Groot, housing market economist at RaboResearch.

Groot also thinks that capital market interest rates, on which mortgage lenders base interest rates, will fall again later in the year. In the long run, this could result in a slightly more favorable mortgage interest rate.

A year ago, the housing market was extremely high and then rose sharply. But since the summer, a price drop has begun. This happened when mortgage rates began to rise rapidly, energy costs soared, and inflation soared.

Rabobank economists had previously predicted a 3 percent price drop for this year, but they’ve now changed that percentage.

‘Housing prices are stable in 2024’

But Groot thinks the bottom is in sight. “We foresee a 1.5 percent annual price decline for 2024. This decline is the result of price developments in 2023. We expect house prices to remain more or less stable throughout that year.”

According to him, one of the reasons is that housing supply is lagging behind demand as new construction has not gotten off to a good start. Groot does not foresee a housing market crisis like a decade ago.

“Sellers are a bit stuck due to large price increases in recent years, tighter lending standards and repayment obligations. So we think the market will continue to move more.”