Credit Suisse Bankers, Don’t Despair: My Lehman Experience

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Two months after the completion of their shotgun marriage, it is clear that UBS Group AG has little appetite for Credit Suisse Group AG’s investment banking business. In the first round of layoffs, UBS plans to cut about two-thirds of the latter’s dealmakers in Asia. More than half of its smaller rival’s 45,000-strong workforce worldwide is expected to get pink slips.

This must be a very stressful time for junior bankers, who have not fully built up their professional network or enough financial buffer. They are forced to re-enter a tough job market where rival banks and even the less glamorous parts of finance are downsizing. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has gone through three rounds of layoffs this year, while accounting firm Accenture Plc plans to slash 19,000 employees.

I know how that feels. In 2008, I was a junior equity analyst at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York. I was not among the first batch let go by Barclays Plc, which bought Lehman’s US operations, but the anxiety was still gnawing at you every day. People were dusting off their resumes, calling contacts to arrange interviews, networking with Barclays bankers to showcase their competence and relevance, and talking to teammates about the possibility of moving together to a rival shop. Everyone was pursuing all options at the same time, hoping one would work out.

The legacy Lehman employees endured as much stress as Credit Suisse bankers do now. But I did learn a few things from the experience, starting with: Don’t despair. 

First, your resume will not be tainted by the bank’s collapse. Recruiters won’t blame you — especially those in Asia — for the $5.5 billion loss tied to the failure of Bill Hwang’s family office Archegos Capital Management, or the rule breach associated with supply-chain financing startup Greensill Capital. You are merely collateral damage. 

Where UBS lacks risk appetite or sees overlap, rivals may spot opportunities. Jefferies Financial Group Inc., for instance, has hired quite a few of Credit Suisse’s junior staff in Southeast Asia. The Swiss bank has a strong client base there, in part because it used its own balance sheet to help company founders grow businesses so it could win over investment banking deals later. This is not something the ultra-conservative UBS is willing to do — but another bank might.

Second, this is only a temporary setback. A decade on, all my Lehman colleagues landed well. They are portfolio managers at top hedge funds, managing directors at tier-one banks, and partners at accounting and consulting firms. It might take some time — so cut off expensive habits, like only drinking French wine — but you will find your footing, too.

Third, consider this as a good inflection point that forces you to reflect. Why are you in finance? Because of genuine interest, or money, or proximity to the rich and powerful? And does the part of banking you’re in have a future? In the financial hub of Hong Kong, for instance, over 25% of full-time employment could be automated by artificial intelligence, according to Goldman Sachs. Singapore doesn’t lag much behind.  

After Lehman, I applied for jobs in Hong Kong, betting that China would be the rising star. Dow Jones, part of News Corp., kindly offered me a position writing finance columns, even though I didn’t have a journalism degree or prior reporting experience. More than 12 years later, I have no regrets about leaving finance. Bloomberg Opinion gives me the space to explore and be creative. 

For me, Lehman turned out to be a positive experience. It opened doors, even to new fields. The Credit Suisse entry on your resume will, too. So keep your hopes up and carry on. 

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

• UBS, Credit Suisse Union Bares Private Banker Strain: Shuli Ren
• Matt Levine's Money Stuff: UBS Cuts Out Credit Suisse
• UBS-Credit Suisse Won't Be a Bloody Merger: Paul J. Davies

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barron’s. She is a CFA charterholder.

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