Credit Suisse Group said it will take a $33 million (57 million Swiss franc) charge in the first quarter to scrap its pan-European online brokerage as demand for these services dries up in Europe.

The bank, based here, will start talks with trade unions to find a "solution," which may include cutting about 100 jobs in Luxembourg, spokeswoman Ruth Stadelmann said. The company, which plans to keep its Swiss brokerage and its local Internet offerings, is sticking to its target of gaining 1 million online clients in five years, she said. Credit Suisse is the latest European financial services company to scale back its Internet plans. Vontobel Holding last month laid off three top executives and shelved a share sale after a failed $100 million bid to start an Internet bank. Systracom Bank, a German online broker, is seeking a buyer after it was shut down by the country's banking regulator. Credit Suisse's brokerage opened at a time when Europe's biggest brokerage shares slumped because client growth dried up along with falling stock markets. Shares in Comdirect Bank, the biggest European discount brokerage, have halved over the past months. The Commerzbank-controlled company expects to report a loss this year amid costs of expanding abroad. Brokerages including Deutsche Bank's are trying to combine Internet services with providing advice. Deutsche Bank started Maxblue, its pan-European online brokerage, in Germany and Spain at the beginning of this month.