Long-standing Credit Suisse executive Gaël de Boissard left following Tidjane Thiam's revamp of the Swiss bank. Now the French banker is back – to settle an old score?
Gaël de Boissard spent 15 years at Credit Suisse, and was even considered a contender to run the Swiss bank after Brady Dougan. Two years ago, the board chose Tidjane Thiam instead, who had spent much of his career in insurance including six years running the U.K.'s Prudential.
As Thiam set about reorganizing Credit Suisse and replenishing its depleted capital, it quickly became clear that de Boissard would no longer command a top spot in the bank's organizational chart. At the end of October, Thiam unveiled his 11-person top management team – and de Boissard's dismissal.
Long-Term Holiday
The financial community didn't hear much of de Boissard until the following summer, when he published pictures from a five-month mountaineering and skiing break on the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps and in Greeland(picture below) on Facebook. The fixed income veteran began investing in budding firms in fintech and credit, and and joined the board of James, an American-European artificial intelligence firm for credit risk.
But de Boissard is knocking on Credit Suisse's door again: the 49-year-old formerly high-flying executive has offered his support to a Swiss hedge fund's efforts to split up the Swiss bank.
Frustrated Shareholder
According to the «Financial Times» (behind paywall), de Boissard still holds a considerable stake. The British newspaper reported that de Boissard is « frustrated at the decline» in their value. When he left Credit Suisse, he held stock worth more than 3.7 million Swiss francs. It is likely that de Boissard had to kiss off another 13 million francs in unvested share awards that he held when he left.
Thus it is unsurprising that the former CSFB interest rate trader is backing the proposals of RBR, a Swiss hedge fund run by former brokerage analyst Rudolf Bohli, to split up Credit Suisse. Bohli only holds 0.2 percent of the bank, but de Boissard's support and his expertise could prove to be good leverage – he knows Credit Suisse's investment bank inside-out and still has many friends and associates at the bank.
Who to Blame?
An investment banking revolt from Credit Suisse's weighty fixed income traders caused Thiam problems last year. A disastrous $1 billion write-down led to an embarrassing public blame game between the bank and de Boissard.
The Frenchman defended himself vigorously in «The Wall Street Journal» (behind paywall), arguing that he had had no responsibility or received any risk reports from October 21, 2015 – the date he was ousted from Credit Suisse. Internally, de Boissard's views were frequently cited as more credible than those of Thiam, who was blamed for an insular management approach relying heavily on consultants and outsiders.
Clever Tactician
De Boissard is too much of an old hand to harbor a personal grudge against Credit Suisse, but his open criticism of Credit Suisse through RBR's efforts to split up the bank are remarkable.
It remains doubtful whether the Swiss activist he is backing can his plans. Major investor Harris Associates has already slammed the plan, and Thiam has proven to be a clever tactician in his own right. He ultimately banished de Boissard's successor, Tim O’Hara, six months after the $1 billion write-down, replacing him with newcomer Brian Chin.
