The world's top investment banks, including Credit Suisse, are reducing research staff in the Middle East in an effort to cut costs amid tough global conditions. Japan's largest investment bank Nomura has also shut down its research department, reports this week said. Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have cut their top equity research jobs for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, four sources reportedly told FOX Business. “Regionally, (Nomura's) research department has been closed, given the wider situation of little activity on stock exchanges,” said a person familiar with the matter in a statement to the news network, adding the move affected about five analysts in Dubai and London. International banks have flocked to the Middle East in recent years, lured by the oil-rich region's growth prospects and the lucrative fees available, from taking companies public to advising on sovereign fund deals. But increased competition and the financial crisis has reduced prospects. Amid that backdrop, bankers say more staff from the region may be shifted to other locations or laid off. “Banks in the region escaped the first round of job cuts this year but a second one is coming for sure and it will be hard to avoid this one. The pressure to cut costs is intense,” one Dubai-based banker was quoted as saying. BM
