KUALA LUMPUR (Mar 4): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd is cuttting 15 equities-based jobs in Singapore amid a competitive investment banking and equities market in Asia, Singapore's The Straits Times reported today.

According to the report, CIMB's (fundamental: 1.05; valuation: 2.1) 15 job cuts include prominent economist Song Seng Wun.
 
"This follows a string of similar moves at other banks. Goldman Sachs is reportedly slashing its investment banking team in Singapore by about 30%.

"In January, StanChart said it would cut 200 jobs, mostly in Asia, as it exited the global institutional cash equities, equity research and equities capital market businesses. More cuts could be around the corner after the bank announced a major boardroom reshuffle last week," Straits Times reported.

CIMB's job cuts in Singapore come at a time when the group has seen weaker financials.

Net profit fell 81% to RM200.32 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014 from RM1.04 billion a year earlier. Revenue was lower at RM3.67 billion versus RM3.8 billion.

Full-year net profit declined to RM3.11 billion from RM4.54 billion a year earlier. Revenue dropped to RM14.15 billion from RM14.67 billion.

At 10:17am today, CIMB shares fell four sen or 0.7% to RM5.90 for a market capitalisation of RM49.7 billion. The stock had gained 6% this year, outperforming the FBM KLCI's 3% rise.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)