Employees feel increasingly lost and helpless. Hastily convened town halls and virtual meetings with senior executives do little to break a growing apathy.

Swiss bank employees have never faced anything like it. An almost unbelievable sense of helplessness following UBS's forced rescue of Credit Suisse. One employee at the Uetlihof, where 8,500 Credit Suisse staff are based, keeps it simple.

«Who wants to settle a mortgage or a corporate loan with us – or open an account», the employee frets.

So many things are still out there in the open. Among them, it is unclear who will be managing the relationship if the client had an account at both major Swiss banks. As one example of many, certain corporate clients who diversified their business risks by apportioning business between UBS and Credit Suisse are likely to choose one of the two in the future.

Thousand Cuts

«People have started to check out mentally», says the employee, noting the growing apathy at the bank. Hastily convened town halls and virtual meetings with senior executives do little to help. «They (management) talk a great deal but they say nothing when it comes down to it», the employee maintains, «as nobody really ostensibly knows anything.»

Lukas Gaehwiler's statement at the UBS annual general meeting last week has added to the general confusion. There, the vice chairman of Switzerland's largest bank, indicated that fully consolidating both entities in Switzerland could take up to three to four years. That would mean that the Credit Suisse brand would continue to exist for at least that amount of time. Many Credit Suisse employees took it akin to a death by a thousand cuts.

Cultural Filter

The situation was made even more difficult last week during the extraordinary session of the Swiss Federal Parliament in Berne when the Lower House twice rejected the emergency loans that were a key part of the deal. If anything, it is likely to delay future integration. «Do what you still need to do and do it as best as you possibly can and talk about it», are what some Credit Suisse team heads are indicating to their subordinates, «that is how you can best recommend yourself to your future employer.»

UBS chairman Colm Kelleher talked about a cultural «filter» during the appointment of Sergio Ermotti as the CEO of the new bank. It is a gauntlet Credit Suisse employees are going to have to run in the future combined entity. But the fear of somehow importing Credit Suisse culture, now clearly regarded as disastrous in hindsight, could prompt the decision makers at UBS to be particularly conservative. They may even veer away from the so-called one-third rule, according to a Zurich-based headhunter requesting anonymity given they are currently in touch with both banks.

Never Seen Before

The usual script for takeovers foresees the buyer taking in at least one-third of the employees of the entity that is being acquired, says Reto Jauch, the managing partner at the Zurich-based executive search firm Schulthess, Zimmermann & Jauch. That is in order to ensure that the new organization is functional from the outset.

Whatever the case, the cultural challenges of the deal are herculean. UBS is in the middle of transforming itself into an agile bank, which has been one of the main strategic imperatives of still CEO Ralph Hamers all the while Credit Suisse has been attempting to reform its risk culture from the ground up. Now, instead, in absolutely no time at all, both institutes are expected to consolidate their businesses into one. It is something that few have any experience or expertise within Switzerland, and certainly not on that scale.

No Consideration

Many experts agree that UBS has to act quickly. Otherwise, uncertainty will remain high, and that is something that will have an impact on the daily conduct of business. As employers, they have to provide clarity. The Zurich-based headhunter believes, however, that, despite that, they will show little consideration when it comes to job cuts: «Management knows that the public outcry will be short-lived but that the consequences from any overly tepid implementation could be very long and arduous», she indicates.

Employees that can quickly adapt to the new culture and outwardly represent it operationally will be chosen over others. Things look far less clear for bankers that have no direct contact with clients. UBS's takeover of Credit Suisse will also result in a great deal of management capacity entering the labor markets, says Jauch. «The Swiss bank sector will not be able to absorb this as it has in the past.»

Positive Aspects

According to brand expert, Florin Baeriswyl, it is important to communicate UBS's values and cultures to team members while also respecting the old Credit Suisse culture «for example, the values that Credit Suisse brings to the table as a bank for entrepreneurs». This needs to happen despite the current pressure on everyone.

«It is important to remember that a brand never belongs to one person or one company. The reputation of a brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room», Baeriswyl says. That is why, according to him, companies have to create a strong and credible image, something that both employees and clients can vouch for – and something that leaves a strong impression behind.

Additional reporting: Samuel Gerber