Credit Suisse to raise capital in strategic overhaul

Reuters Updated - January 23, 2018 at 12:30 AM.

A Credit Suisse sign is seen on the exterior of their Americas headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, September 1, 2015. Credit Suisse has appointed William Nourse to its EMEA Financial Institutions Group (FIG) team as a managing director primarily covering UK financial institutions, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Swiss bank Credit Suisse announced plans for two capital increases to raise just over 6 billion Swiss francs ($6.28 billion), as well as a raft of changes to its top management and a partial flotation of its Swiss universal bank.

These were among a host of measures outlined on Wednesday by Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam who, almost four months into the job, set about putting his stamp on Switzerland's second biggest bank.

"Our strategy is a growth strategy; a profitable growth strategy," Thiam said in a statement. "It will create value for our customers, generate capital, and over time deliver value to our key stakeholders - investors, clients and staff."

Pierre-Olivier Bouşe, Iqbal Khan and Lara Warner were among the names promoted to Credit Suisse's executive board, while Gašl de Boissard, Hans-Ulrich Meister and Robert Shafir, among other, were to leave the bank's top management team.

Credit Suisse also detailed a plan to cut costs by a net 2 billion francs by the end of 2018 for a cost base of between 18.5 billion and 19 billion francs.

Thiam made clear Credit Suisse would focus more on managing the fortunes of the world's wealthy, especially in emerging markets, and would also reduce the capital usage of its cash-intensive investment bank.

The two capital increases comprise a private placement of around 1.35 billion francs and a rights issue of about 4.7 billion francs.

Through the capital raising, Thiam hopes to boost Credit Suisse's capital position, an area where the bank trails rivals and a persistent concern for investors.

Earlier, Credit Suisse posted a bigger-than-expected drop in third-quarter net profit by 24 per cent.

Published on October 21, 2015 05:54