RBS axes up to 60 jobs in rates and forex

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) yesterday eliminated up to 60 positions in its global banking and markets business. Most of the redundancies were made in the rates business, although some came in foreign exchange. Trading, research, sales and ecommerce head counts have all been reduced, according to industry sources.

A spokesman confirmed that jobs had been eliminated, but declined to say how many. “We keep the structure of our businesses under constant review to ensure that we are well placed to meet the rapidly changing global banking needs of our customers," he said in a statement emailed to RiskNews. "Global banking and markets has grown dramatically in the past five years and now employs over 7,000 people worldwide. As a result of our ongoing review, changes will be made to a small number of jobs and for those affected we will seek to find alternative suitable employment within the organisation,” the statement added.

Industry participants speculated that one reason for the redundancies is that RBS over-hired last year. As a result, the bank has been forced to cut back some of its underperformers, as well as offer some veteran rates and forex professionals early retirement packages.