Credit Suisse Group has appointed Ulrich Koerner as its new CEO, tasked with reducing investment banking and cutting more than $1 billion in costs to help the bank recover from a string of scandals and losses.
The Swiss bank has designated 2022 as a “transition” year, with a change of guard, restructuring aimed at reducing risk-taking in investment banking, and beefing up wealth management, while dismissing speculation that it might be acquired or broken up.
The bank’s second strategic review in less than a year, announced on Wednesday, will assess possibilities for its securitised products division to attract third-party financing, while confirming its commitment to asset management.
Koerner, 59, is regarded as a restructuring expert in Switzerland and will take over as CEO on August 1.
From 2014 to 2019, Koerner was the CEO of UBS Asset Management, and from 2019 to 2020, he was an adviser to the CEO. He was also a senior executive at Credit Suisse Financial Services, where he oversaw the Swiss company.
Gottstein’s two-year tenure has been marked by significant losses and even a conviction for the bank, as well as a 40% drop in its stock price.
According to Refinitiv data, the stock hit a low of less than 5 Swiss francs in mid-July, and its market capitalization has fallen below 14 billion Swiss francs. By 0900 GMT on Wednesday, the shares had changed little.
Credit Suisse ‘will require time to resolve its challenges and win the trust of all stakeholders in the next years,’ Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti wrote in a client note. He stated that the investment bank examination was the appropriate emphasis for Koerner.
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