Banks in Europe prepare for 20,000 job cuts

  DUBAI - Some 20,000 people will be losing their jobs as European banks are preparing a fresh round of bloodletting as tougher rules and negative interest rates weigh on profits. Amsterdam-based lender ING Groep NV said recently that it will slash 5,800 positions over five years as it focuses on internet and mobile banking and automates system. Last week, plans of layoffs from other companies were also disclosed. Germany's Commerzbank AG disclosed plans to cut 9,600 jobs. Spain's Banco Popular Espanol SA will eliminate as many as 3,000 posts after tapping investors for funds. Karim Bertoni, a fund manager at Bellevue Asset Management in Switzerland, which has about 6.9 billion Swiss francs ($7 billion) under management, said that banks are facing high regulatory costs and competition on margins and pricing due to the low-rate environment. "They are trying to reduce costs and people are one of the biggest parts of that," Bertoni said. This week, Deutsche Bank AG is poised to reach an agreement with labour representatives that will allow about 1,000 job cuts in its home market at part of cost cuts it announced last year. As part of its overhaul announced in 2015, the company is also slashing nine percent from their workforce. This would mean laying off 9,000 jobs including the 4,000 positions in Germany. Through this job-cutting program, ING is expecting about 900 million euros ($1 billion) in savings as it invests about 800 million euros in digital technology. Even it's biggest Dutch rival ABN Amro Group NV said last month that it would eliminate as many as 1,375 jobs or six percent of the workforce, through 2020. According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Jonathan Tyce and Arjun Bowry, the cuts were necessary "because of the overly fragmented nature of Euro-area banks". CLM/Expat 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