UBS is reportedly considering a rollout of huge cost cuts across its asset management division, including axing staff.

In an exclusive report, a source told Reuters that the bank is planning to cut at least $300 million in costs, in part by trimming down back-office staff who joined with Credit Suisse.

The report also said that UBS is exploring whether some of the department should be merged with its wealth management business.

FStech has approached UBS for comment.

The news comes after reports claimed that UBS is shutting down parts of its China private funds business, resulting in a third of staff being laid off.

The move, first reported by Reuters, forms part of the bank's plans to reduce operating costs in China.

Sources told the newswire that UBS is closing down up to 17 of 19 equity and bond funds, with money being returned to investors.

They said that UBS Asset Management Shanghai will begin axing roughly a third of its 50-strong team.

The news comes after Bloomberg reported in January that UBS aims to grow its wealth and asset management business in China, despite a slowing economy.

Earlier this year, multinational intergovernmental Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned that UBS’ 2023 shotgun rescue deal of Credit Suisse has created “new risks and challenges” for the country.

In its latest economic review of Switzerland, the OECD said that while the deal may have safeguarded the Swiss economy in the short term, the organisation has concerns over UBS’s domestic dominance and a need for stronger financial regulation.

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