Credit Suisse announced the expansion of its wealth management division at the end of 2021. Now a wave of client advisor reassignments is beginning.
In hopes of strengthening its wealthy private client business, Credit Suisse is shifting staff resources within wealth management and making cuts in its struggling investment bank, according to a memo seen by finews.asia and reported by «Bloomberg» (behind paywall).
Client advisors are being moved to private banking international (PBI), headed by Raffael Gasser. The wealth management subdivision, established in 2019, serves clients with around 20 million francs ($20.7 million) in assets or less – in other words, clients that do not yet fulfill the label «super-rich».
Up to one-third of relationship managers for clients booked in Switzerland will be transferred into the unit over the next few months, it adds.
«Wealthy» Redefined
A stronger push into wealth management could also redefine what Credit Suisse considers «high net worth» clients, the report said.
New CEO Ulrich Koerner is working on the bank's second strategy change within a year. Tougher measures are expected to be taken at the loss-making investment bank, which has been given a new chief financial officer in Dixit Joshi. Meanwhile, Francesca McDonagh has been named chief operating officer, and all three have experience with restructuring.
Credit Suisse will announce the details of its latest strategy review along with the third quarter results. Late last year, the bank unveiled a group-wide strategy to downsize the investment bank and shift about $3 billion in capital to the wealth management unit.
