City jobs are safe as banks tie knot

HUNDREDS of City investment and privatebanking jobs were secure today following UniCredito Italiano's takeover of Germany's HVB and its eastern European units in a deal worth e15.4bn (£10.5bn).

However, 9200 jobs are under threat, mostly in central Europe, according to the merged giant's leaders.

The two banks employed 125,647 people at the end of the first quarter but the combined workforce is to be cut by 7% as net cost savings of e985m, 'fully realised by 2008', are brought in.

HVB employs 58,000 staff in total, 30,000 of those outside Germany. Its corporate and investment banking division has about 100 London staff but a spokeswoman said: 'There is no risk to anyone in London to my knowledge We feel very comfortable with our investment banking.'

HVB chief executive Dieter Rampl will become chairman of UniCredito, and HVB management board member Stefan Jentzsch will be head of investment banking.

The combined company, with UniCredito chief executive Alessandro Profumo as chief executive, will have nearly 11m clients in eastern and central Europe and will almost triple UniCredito's assets to about e733bn.