Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, is lowering the average temperature in its offices by one degree Celsius, according to a «Bloomberg» (behind paywall) report. In addition, the bank will turn off the lights after 6 p.m., where possible.

As a further measure employees have been asked to turn off their computer screens when leaving the office, according to an internal statement.

Is Credit Suisse Next?

«UBS has been active on the topic of energy reduction as part of driving the sustainability of our own operations,» a spokesperson told «Bloomberg.» «We are continuously looking at reducing energy consumption on a global level.»

UBS is the second major European financial institution, after Deutsche Bank, to turn down office temperatures. Credit Suisse «is in contact with the Swiss authorities and other stakeholders concerning the energy crisis and took proactive measures early on to ensure uninterrupted business operations,» the bank said in an emailed response to «Bloomberg.»

Prepared for Outages

It appears that many European banks are also preparing for potential power outages. JP Morgan in Frankfurt said it relied on emergency generators, and in an emergency, employees could also be moved to locations not affected by power outages, it said.

Swiss banks also have emergency power generators.