Tidjane Thiam, head of Credit Suisse, would like to assume Swiss citizenship. And with «his» bank, he also aims to be an active participant in the ongoing consolidation of the financial services industry.
Tidjane Thiam, CEO of Credit Suisse, is a citizen of France and Côte d’Ivoire. After three years spent running Switzerland’s second-largest bank, Thiam would now also like to become a Swiss. Asked in an interview with «L’Agefi» (behind paywall) newspaper, whether he wanted to become Swiss, Thiam answered: «I would like to, as soon as the necessary preconditions have been met.»
Thiam said he spoke reasonably well German, though not yet the local lingo – Swiss German. But, he even started understanding more and more of this colloquial language.
No to Cross-Border Acquisitions
The head of Credit Suisse also made a statement about cross-border mergers with rival banks: «We are skeptical about international mergers and acquisitions across borders.» But the bank by contrast was open for domestic consolidation, in markets where the bank was already active.
He added that Credit Suisse was also ready to cooperate with banks, without buying them, for example by providing its computer-based compliance system and platforms. The Zurich-based company has had to spend about 15 billion Swiss francs ($15 billion) over a ten year period because of earlier compliance problems.
