An activist investor is going on the attack against Credit Suisse. He has prominent support from the Swiss bank's former head of investment banking.
Rudolf Bohli and RBR Capital Advisors notched up some success with their activism at GAM earlier this year. Now the Swiss hedge fund manager is taking aim at a far larger target: Credit Suisse, according to several media outlets including the «Financial Times» (behind paywall).
Credit Suisse's share price, which has been diluted by raising capital, is barely half what it was when CEO Tidjane Thiam took charge in 2015. Bohli and RBR envision a three-way break-up of Credit Suisse.
Prominent Backer
Bohli has received prominent backing for his efforts: Gaël de Boissard, until 2015 co-head of the Credit Suisse investment bank, is reportedly backing the hedge fund.
Their joint plan would see the institution carved up into a Wall Street investment bank reviving the old First Boston brand, an asset manager, and a wealth management firm for Credit Suisse’s retail and business banking operations. No details of where the Asian units would stand have been unveiled yet.
De Boissard (pictured above), who was dumped by Credit Suisse boss Thiam in a 2015 revamp, has left banking to manage investments in fintech and credit. RBR and the former Wall Streeter will reportedly disclose details of the plan at a brokerage conference later this week.
Asian Angle
The Zurich-based bank is two years into a three-year restructuring plan designed to prune its investment banking risk and seek returns in private banking growth markets such as Asia Pacific. Credit Suisse's momentum in the region, which has been the bank's main growth market, stalled in the second quarter.
The Swiss bank's assets under management in Asia stood at 177.8 billion Swiss francs at the end of June, a meager 400 million higher compared to the previous quarter after translating local currencies into francs. The bank however won 4.5 billion francs in net new assets off clients, mainly from greater China and southeast Asia.
