Banks are slashing jobs!

Banks are retrenching. Should we be worried? Is a recession round the corner? Your guess is as good as mine. Best to have our emergency funds ready just in case. If we are thinking of buying shares on the cheap, make sure we have a war chest ready as well. Oh, make sure it is not empty. ;)

HSBC will slash more than 10,000 jobs as part of the global banking giant's recently announced cost-cutting drive, a report said.

Broadcaster Sky News said senior executives at the bank "are close to finalising costs cuts that will result in thousands of jobs being axed across the bank's sprawling global empire."

The report on Wednesday said London-headquartered HSBC may chop more than 10,000 positions across its operations, citing unnamed sources.

A bank spokeswoman in Hong Kong on Thursday declined comment on the report.


Read full report here.

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse said on Thursday that its second quarter net profit plunged 52 percent, adding it would cut about four percent of its workforce worldwide.

Net profit for the three months ending June fell to 768 million Swiss francs (US$957 million, 667 million euros) from 1.6 billion francs a year ago, amid "disappointing performance" by its investment bank unit.

Concerns over the European debt crisis and weakening global economic indicators led to weak client demand and a poor trading environment, said the group.


Read full report here.

Good luck to us all.