June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse AG, the second-biggest Swiss bank, asked clients to hire former members of the firm's commercial real estate team after cutting jobs in the unit amid the credit-market contraction.

Anthony Orso and Michael Lehrman, managing directors in the firm's real estate finance and securitization group, sent a memo to unspecified clients on June 26, inviting them to recruit from the ``pool of individuals'' that helped Zurich-based Credit Suisse package and sell bonds backed by commercial real estate.

``As the tides have turned, talented resources have become available for our clients,'' Orso and Lehrman wrote in the memo. ``We are committed to both our clients and employees, and seek to provide available opportunities to both. If you are looking for additional talent, we would like to know.''

The world's largest banks and brokerage firms have shed more than 80,000 jobs since subprime-mortgage defaults infected credit markets last year, leading to almost $400 billion of losses. Credit Suisse has booked $9.8 billion of writedowns and eliminated at least 1,490 positions since last October, including 170 announced today.

``It's unusual to send a message to clients, especially about a specific group,'' said Jeanne Branthover, head of the financial services practice for Boyden Global Executive Search in New York. ``The bank is really trying to help its people by taking these steps, although if I was in this business right now I would be concerned, given the market conditions.''

Bruce Corwin, a Credit Suisse spokesman in New York, said the solicitation referred only to people whose jobs in the commercial mortgage-backed securities unit have been eliminated. He declined to say how many people remain on the team and how many had been let go.

`Parted Ways'

It's the company's first department-wide effort to reach out to clients about potential hires, and a similar push on behalf of the leveraged finance group is planned, he said.

Sales of securities backed by commercial real estate ranging from New York skyscrapers to California shopping malls may fall to the lowest level since at least 1996, as investor demand for the debt slumps, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Offerings dropped to $12.2 billion in the first half of the year, from about $137 billion in the same period of 2007, according to JPMorgan analysts, who predict sales will fall to $20 billion this year from the record $237 billion in 2007.

``We've parted ways with some very talented people in a very challenging CMBS market,'' Steve Kantor, head of global securities at Credit Suisse, said in an e-mailed statement today. ``We care about our people, and this placement effort benefits both them and our clients. It's also the right thing to do.''

`A Number of Resumes'

With the market for mortgage-backed securities moribund, jobs in the field will be hard to come by, according to Boyden Global's Branthover.

``If a place like Credit Suisse, which has done well in CMBS, is doing this it's not like many others will be able to pick them up,'' Branthover said. ``I've got a number of resumes with CMBS experience at the moment. I don't have a whole lot of searches.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Keehner in New York jkeehner@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 30, 2008 16:48 EDT