UBS to close almost a fifth of its branches
UBS plans to close 44 of its 239 branches across Switzerland in the first quarter of 2021, according to media reports.
How, among other things, the NZZ reports, the list of 44 affected stores has already been drawn up. The cuts will be spread across Switzerland. Around 150 employees are affected by the closures; they are to be kept on in other branches and areas if possible.
The key is to orient oneself to customer behaviour, quotes the NZZ UBS Switzerland CEO Axel Lehmann, who will hand over the reins of the domestic business to Sabine Keller-Busse at the end of the month. Savings are therefore to be reinvested in digitalisation. This is because more than two-thirds of customers already communicate with the bank primarily digitally, and the trend is rising - this is happening at the expense of traditional bank visits. The pandemic has accelerated this trend.
According to NZZ there have long been rumors of major cuts in the UBS branch network. Last year, the big bank already closed 28 of its 267 branches. UBS is not the only bank to close branches during and because of the pandemic. The Zürcher Kantonalbank and Credit Suisse have also closed or announced the closure of some branches.
In a statement, the Swiss Bank Employees Association (SBA) criticises UBS's announced branch closures. In view of the second wave of the Corona pandemic and a possible second lockdown, it is unreasonable to make such a decision with far-reaching consequences at this time. UBS should postpone its decision until at least the end of the Corona pandemic, demands the SBA. (ah)
