SHARE
COPY LINK

BANK

Spain’s Banco Popular to axe 3,000 jobs in cost cutting plan

Spain's struggling Banco Popular said on Tuesday that it plans to axe up to 3,000 jobs, about a fifth of its workforce, in the latest round of cost cutting by a Spanish lender.

Spain's Banco Popular to axe 3,000 jobs in cost cutting plan
The bank plans to close around 300 of its 2,000 branches in Spain as part of a restructuring plan. Photo: AFP

The bank plans to close around 300 of its 2,000 branches in Spain as part of a restructuring, it said in a statement.   

“This restructuring process will affect between 2,900 and 3,000 people,” the statement said.

The bank said it would negotiate the job cuts with unions.    

Banco Popular, Spain's seventh largest bank by market capitalisation, announced a cost-cutting plan in July, a month after raising €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) in a share issue to clean up its balance sheet.

Like other Spanish lenders, it is making a major push to sell off real estate assets, including repossessed homes, which are clogging up its balance sheet and eating into earnings.

Banco Popular in July reported a second quarter net profit of just €122,000 and announced provisions on bad loans of €4.7 billion.

Spanish banks, which slimmed down after a decade-long property boom went bust in 2008, are once again closing branches and slashing jobs as their profitability is hit by stiff competition.

Santander, the eurozone's biggest bank by market capitalisation, plans to close 450 smaller branches and cut 1,400 jobs in Spain, about five percent of the staff in its home market, through voluntary departures.

Barcelona-based CaixaBank, Spain's third-largest bank, plans to cut 3,000 jobs, mainly through early retirement, as it seeks to trim its salary costs.    

Spain has the densest bank branch network in western Europe, with 8.6 branches per 10,000 residents, according to consultancy Roland Berger.  

The average in the entire European Union is five branches per 10,000 residents.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

BANK

Deutsche Bank to pay $130m to settle US bribery probes

Deutsche Bank will pay $130 million to settle a foreign bribery probe and fraud charges in precious metals trading, US officials announced on Friday.

Deutsche Bank to pay $130m to settle US bribery probes
A woman walks past the offices of Deutsche Bank in London. Photo: Tolga Akmen / AFP
The bribery case relates to illegal payments and to false reporting of those sums on the bank's books and records between 2009 and 2016, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
   
The bank “knowingly and wilfully” kept false records after employees conspired with a Saudi consultant to facilitate bribe payments of over $1 million to a decision maker, the DOJ said.
   
In another case, the bank paid more than $3 million “without invoices” to an Abu Dhabi consultant “who lacked qualifications… other than his family relationship with the client decision maker,” the DOJ said.
   
In addition to criminal fines and payments of ill-gotten gains, Deutsche Bank agreed to cooperate with government investigators under a three-year deferred prosecution agreement.
 
   
In the commodities fraud case, Deutsche Bank metals traders in New York, Singapore and London between 2008 and 2013 placed fake trade orders to profit by deceiving other market participants, the DOJ said.
   
The agreement took into account Deutsche Bank's cooperation with the probes, DOJ said.
   
“Deutsche Bank engaged in a criminal scheme to conceal payments to so-called consultants worldwide who served as conduits for bribes to foreign officials and others so that they could unfairly obtain and retain lucrative business projects,” said Acting US Attorney Seth D. DuCharme of the Eastern District of New York.
   
“This office will continue to hold responsible financial institutions that operate in the United States and engage in practices to facilitate criminal activity in order to increase their bottom line.”
   
“We take responsibility for these past actions, which took place between 2008 and 2017,” said Deutsche Bank spokesperson Dan Hunter, adding that the company has taken “significant remedial actions” including hiring staff and upgrading technology to address the shortcomings.
SHOW COMMENTS