Iceland's largest bank, Kaupthing, which has a branch in Birmingham, has announced it intends to cut jobs as part of a cost-saving process once it becomes fully funded.
But it has declined to say what the headcount could be reduced to.
Chief executive Hreidar Sigurdsson said although ambitious, his target was to be fully funded for 2009 by the end of April this year.
"It's an ambitious goal but it's do-able," he said after a presentation to investors in London. If it is achieved then many workers could find themselves out of a job.
The company has already embarked on a cost-cutting programme designed to reduce expenditure by 10 per cent during the next quarter.
"Jobs are the main source of cost-cutting," said Mr Sigurdsson, although the bank has said that a crackdown on expenses could minimise redundancies.
On Wednesday, Kaupthing posted first-quarter net profit of £128 million, almost double the £67 million of the fourth quarter and nearly matching the full-year earnings of 2006.
At £147 million, operating expenses in the quarter fell 17 per cent from the fourth quarter when measured in euros, but were up 21.8 per cent from a year earlier.
In January, the bank continued its development in the Midlands by launching a new wealth management service.
The new service is intended to complement its existing corporate and property departments.
The cost-cutting has been implemented largely as result of the global credit crunch jacking up the price of risk.
Iceland's banks have been hit hard by fears they took on too much debt during their rapid overseas expansion.
After briefly trading at spreads of more than 1,000 basis points a few weeks ago, Kaupthing credit default swaps – insurance-like protection against default or restructuring – have come down to around 430 basis points.
However, this is still a long way above most European banks.
Mr Sigurdsson said of the bank's CDS price: "It's ridiculous. For us, the lack of transparency (in the wholesale market) is very irritating."
The bank has called for stricter rules on market abuse and insider trading.
Despite the gloomy trading climate, the Birmingham office continues to make a major contribution to the business, funding several major schemes in the West Midlands and beyond.
Midland head of property finance David Smith said: "With significant work in the north-west, south Wales and the Midlands, our Birmingham office is really making a mark on the national scene."
