You really don't want to be working in the back office of a Nordic investment bank

We've mentioned previously that there's an argument for some of the Nordic investment banks to start paring back headcount in the front office, but it seems that the back office is still target for the majority of cuts.

Carnegie Investment Bank has told Bloomberg that it's planning on making eight people in support functions in Copenhagen redundant. This is part of the 100 job cuts announced in November as it looks to integrate HQ Bank, which it bought in 2010.

This is a small figure (the rest of the job cuts will take place throughout 2012), but it still shows that back offices workers are feeling the vast majority of the pain in the Nordic banking sector.

Of Nordea's planned 2,000 cuts, for example, just 500-650 are going in the Nordic region and these have hit back office and administrative functions, where any planned future redundancies will take place.

It may only be a matter of time before the front office begins to be hit in other organisations, but for now the back office is the precarious place to be.