M&Aの結果、1万人の銀行員が削減されたほか、色々な要因で人員削減が進んでいる模様です。日本でもこのような動きがあるのか、注目です。

Title: The Global Banking Workforce Evolution: A Reflection on the Challenges of 2023 and Beyond

The year 2023 witnessed a seismic shift in the global banking sector, as financial institutions grappled with one of the most significant waves of job cuts since the 2007-08 financial crisis. With over 60,000 jobs eliminated across the world's leading banks, the industry faced unprecedented challenges, marking a departure from the post-Covid-19 hiring surge.

Investment banks, in particular, found themselves in the midst of a second consecutive year of plummeting fees, a consequence of subdued dealmaking and a dearth of public listings. Wall Street, in an effort to safeguard profit margins, responded by undertaking substantial workforce reductions, a strategy that had been largely shelved during the initial stages of the pandemic recovery.

One of the major catalysts for the job cuts was the acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS, which resulted in at least 13,000 fewer roles at the combined bank. The merger, hailed as the most significant since the financial crisis, triggered widespread speculation about the fate of tens of thousands of jobs. As the banking giants began to digest the implications of this merger, it became evident that 2024 would be a "pivotal year," with analysts anticipating further substantial job cuts.

While European lenders historically bore the brunt of extensive job losses in years past, the dynamics shifted in 2023, with at least half of the reductions originating from Wall Street. Lenders in the financial hub faced the challenge of adjusting to the rapid pace of interest rate rises in both the United States and Europe.

The largest cuts by a single institution were witnessed at UBS, as the bank swiftly implemented its restructuring plans post-merger. In November, UBS disclosed a reduction of 13,000 jobs from the combined group, leaving the institution with a total headcount of 116,000. However, the CEO signaled that 2024 would be pivotal, suggesting that the ongoing transformation was far from complete.

Wells Fargo emerged as the second-biggest job cutter in 2023, reducing its global headcount by 12,000. The bank's CEO announced the allocation of a significant budget for further severance costs, indicating that tens of thousands more jobs were at risk.

Other major Wall Street players, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase, collectively cut at least 30,000 staff in 2023. The reasoning behind these reductions was multifaceted, ranging from a lack of revenue to overexpansion and, notably, political cost-cutting pressures.

Deutsche Bank, in a surprising turn of events, shifted from expressing concerns about rising remuneration costs in January 2022 to streamlining its investment bank due to a lack of dealmaking. The overarching theme became clear — the pursuit of efficiency and cost reduction in response to the challenging economic climate.

As the banking sector braces for the future, the outlook for global banking jobs in 2024 appears to be a continuation of the story of 2023. Banks are expected to adopt a more conservative approach, hesitating due to the substantial dry powder on the sidelines, especially in the Americas.

While some major banks, such as HSBC and Commerzbank, managed to escape the 2023 job cut wave, the overall trend is indicative of an industry in flux. UniCredit, Italy's second-largest lender, strategically reduced its headcount over the past two years, signaling a commitment to efficiency without resorting to large-scale redundancy rounds in 2023.

In conclusion, the challenges faced by the global banking sector in 2023, characterized by extensive job cuts and restructuring, underscore the need for adaptability and strategic foresight in an ever-evolving economic landscape. The echoes of this transformative period are likely to resonate into 2024, as banks navigate uncertainties and strive for resilience in the face of ongoing economic challenges.