Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam last year shunned a meeting in Saudi Arabia following the murder of a journalist. This year, Switzerland’s second-largest bank is sending a high-ranking delegation to the desert meeting.

More than a year after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, the reputation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) remains a tainted one. Despite protestations to the contrary, his critics claim that he probably ordered the murder.

The global business elite is not overly keen to be associated with the prince, a cursory glance at the Website of «Future Investment Initiative», a prestige event in Saudi Arabia, reveals.

Famous Venue in Riyadh

Four days before the start of the event there’s neither a list of participants nor partner firms available. Last year, Credit Suisse had been listed as a co-sponsor. The conference is due to be hosted at Hotel Ritz Carlton in Riyadh.

The venue achieved notoriety in 2017 when MBS held numerous rich Saudis at the hotel. They were reportedly mistreated and forced to hand over what were claimed to be untaxed asset to the Saudi state.

Diminished Protest

U.S. news outlet «Axios» has published a preliminary program of the conference. It shows that the global political and business elite will meet in Riyadh this year, despite the persistent unease about the country’s politics.

One slated to attend the meeting is Tidjane Thiam, chief executive officer of Credit Suisse. He was one of the last to cancel his trip last year, when the furor about the killing of Khashoggi gained traction.

A Four-Strong Delegation

The bank also sends Marisa Drew, responsible for sustainable investment at Credit Suisse, to the event dubbed «Davos in the Desert». Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Apart from the two top Credit Suisse managers, Switzerland will also be represented by Ueli Maurer, the finance minister and Erik Kaas from Partners Group.

Rival Bankers Present

The Swiss delegation will meet with powerful counterparts from other markets. Blackrock founder Larry Fink will attend, as will Ray Dalio, Daniel Loeb and Barry Sternlicht.

Christian Sewing, head of Deutsche Bank, will participate, alongside the CEOs of HSBC and Citigroup, said «Bloomberg» in a report. UBS, the arch rival of Credit Suisse, isn’t mentioned in the program.

Desert Interests

Saudi Arabia has featured as a key market for Credit Suisse for some time. The bank sought to get a banking license in Riad for quite a while and finally received one earlier this year.

Credit Suisse in September hired Khalid Al Ghamdi as new country head. It aims to be part of the Saudi Aramco IPO – together with UBS and 23 other investment banks – a move that has proved elusive so far.

Treacherous Terrain

Thiam and Drew know what’s at stake in the desert nation, but the terrain is treacherous to say the least. Some firms seem already have to thrown the towel.

«Bloomberg Television» has pulled out the journalists who were slated to host nine of the panel discussions, saying that it will report on the event but not be part of it, in a statement to «Axios».