Not long ago, Credit Suisse was considered the sick man of Zurich's Paradeplatz financial district as well as a weak spot in European banking. More recently, it has grown quiet around the Swiss bank. What happened? A finews.asia roundup.
Credit Suisse boss Tidjane Thiam was last seen and heard in July before taking a summer holiday, when he flagged the next chapter in the Swiss bank's comeback story to staff.
Since then, Thiam has been oddly silent, and few memos to staff have leaked out. Credit Suisse has shuffled the management of its European investment bank. The silence – even the bank's main spokesman Christoph Meier was abruptly replaced with Adam Gishen – can be seen as a positive signal.
Credit Suisse shares appear to confirm this impression: the bank's stock gained 8 percent in the third quarter, ending last week. Meanwhile, UBS' stock stagnated, a point which that bank's boss Sergio Ermotti has conceded needles him. As finews.asia summarized after second-quarter results, Credit Suisse can benefit from far more momentum that its cross-town rival right now. Here's why:
1. Much Talk – And Delivered
Thiam took on a Herculian task, and one which he wasn't shy about making bold assertions about. If other executives would have taken such major restructuring piece by piece, the undoubtedly hugely ambitious Thiam set out to bolster capital at the same time as a shrink-fit of shift of its investment bank away from riskier business which costs precious capital. He completely overhauled wealth management, prepared a valuable Swiss unit for a partial public listing, and spearheaded a cost-cutting program which at times threatened to hollow out Credit Suisse.
That risk appears to have been averted: Thiam's restructuring as well as the stronger focus on less risky but more stable revenue from wealthy clients has taken hold. In short, Thiam didn't just talk – he also delivered according to his timeline.
2. Really a Flop?
Credit Suisse garnered criticism and jeer when it pulled the plug on the initial public offering of its Swiss unit. Instead of following through on 18 months of painstaking work, Thiam instead asked Credit Suisse shareholders to plow in 4 billion Swiss francs to replenish the bank's depleted capital base.
If observers expected Credit Suisse in disarray over the reversal and for a management exodus under Thomas Gottstein (pictured) – it hasn't happened. The Swiss business continues to tick along very profitably with no major departures.
Thiam made the right call to pull the IPO in favor of a traditional cap hike. A listed vehicle with Credit Suisse, itself Swiss-listed, as its biggest shareholder wouldn't have found investor favor.
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