Credit Suisse chief executive Thomas Gottstein spoke about the diversification of the Swiss bank’s business in Asia and the advantages of not being excessively reliant on China which is facing challenges including its zero-Covid approach.
«With China markets softening it’s hard to make any predictions in this market,» according to an «efinancialcareer» report citing Credit Suisse CEO Thomas Gottstein at the Morgan Stanley European Financials Conference 2022 in London.
According to Gottstein, Credit Suisse was less dependent on China than its competitors and it will be «agile» in the short-term to seek opportunities across Asia.
Singapore Flow
Gottstein underlined various challenges in the China market including its persistent zero-Covid policy, the tech crackdown and geopolitical risks alongside team shifts from Hong Kong to Singapore.
«Our mid-to-long term strategy is to invest and there are plenty of subregions within Asia where we are continuing to invest, in particular Singapore,» he said.
Despite the comments, Credit Suisse is in the midst of its five-year plan to expand investment banking and wealth management in China with goals that include full ownership of its mainland joint venture and a large portion of its hiring target of 500 relationship managers.
