Credit Suisse is replacing a key executive under private banking head Iqbal Khan, finews.ch has learned. The unit's chief operating officer, a veteran of the Swiss bank, is leaving the role after just over six months.

Credit Suisse is naming Marcel Schuler as COO of international wealth management, its private banking unit, effective Nov. 1, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The job had been given to long-standing Credit Suisse executive Romeo Lacher last year after a shakeup under Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam. Lacher's new role will be announced at some point in the future, the person said.

Credit Suisse confirmed the contents of the memorandum, which was sent on Monday by private bank head Iqbal Khan, Swiss bank unit head Thomas Gottstein and overall bank COO Pierre-Olivier Bouee.

More Changes

The move illustrates how Credit Suisse has been roiled by Thiam's restructuring, but also by an extremely unfavorable market for private banks.

Schuler is currently head of operations for Credit Suisse's Swiss universal bank unit, which is set to spin off a minority stake next year or in 2018. He will report directly to Khan with a dotted reporting line to Bouee, a long-time associate of Thiam.

Absent Due to Health Reasons

The private bank's current COO, Lacher, has been absent from his role for several months due to health reasons, a source familiar with the situation said.

Schuler is a 22-year veteran of Credit Suisse and has held various roles in operations, product management, strategic products, segment management and credit recovery.

Departments Merge

The bank said it will merge its Swiss bank's IT and operations units, to be led by Mario Crameri. He will report to Dagmar Kamber Borens, who joins the Swiss bank unit as COO from UBS later this year as previously reported by finews.ch.

The move makes sense because the two functions «are joined at the hip and have a mutual interest to tackle platform challenges together,» the bank said. 

Credit Suisse said the IT and operations merger will allow the bank to more closely pursue digital banking capabilities following the merger.