A special staff Christmas holiday is to be axed by Credit Suisse’s investment bank on the grounds that Canary Wharf’s burgeoning retail outlets can now cater for last-minute gift-shopping at lunchtime. Financial Times
London employees have been told that this year’s half-day shopping break will be the last, as it aligns benefits across the investment bank, private bank and asset management divisions.
The bank declined to comment but one person familiar with the decision said it was not a cost-cutting move. The holiday was introduced after the bank moved to Canary Wharf, in London’s Docklands, in 1994, when the area was a retail wasteland.