Guide to the latest IT Contractor Rates

UBS is the latest bank to announce a series of job cuts, and contractors aren't immune according to The Register.

Following job culls by many of the UK's leading banks (HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group shedding the highest number of staff ), Swiss Bank UBS recently announced that it plans to let 3,500 of its worldwide staff go by the end of 2013.

According to IT news site The Register, some IT contractors at the bank have been told to take a 10% rate cut, or take four weeks' notice. Some contractors were apparently given just 24 hours notice to make their decision.

The major agencies which supply contractors to the bank, and UBS itself, have declined to comment on the news.

The UBS rate cut brings back memories of the credit crunch, when news of rate cuts appeared on Contract Eye on a weekly basis - Shell, Lloyds Banking Group, Fujitsu and BT were just some of the big names who applied rate cuts across the board in the two years following the collapse of Northern Rock.

New fears over the sluggish growth of the world economy have led to a new round of staff cuts at many leading banks. Other factors, such as increased regulatory changes, and reduced client activity have been blamed for the cuts.

Last week's news that the US Federal Housing Finance Agency now plans to sue 17 major financial institutions (including several major UK banks) for mis-selling mortgage backed securities, can only put further pressure on banks to seek further 'efficiency savings'.

At UBS itself, most jobs will be lost in its investment banking and wealth management divisions, although no specific details have yet been released.