Tidjane Thiam points Credit Suisse to private banking as profits jump
Credit Suisse’s new chief executive Tidjane Thiam said yesterday that the bank would place greater emphasis on private banking and wealth management after it comfortably beat market expectations in the second quarter.
“We want to rebalance towards private banking and wealth management… as opposed to the investment bank,” Thiam told CNBC.
Switzerland’s second biggest bank posted a profit yesterday of SFr1.05bn (£705m) for the three months to June, a complete turnaround from the SFr700m loss posted a year earlier after it was fined by US authorities over tax dodging allegations.
The results are the first to be reported since former Prudential boss Thiam took the top job three weeks ago and hint at his strategy review which he is set to unveil before the end of the year.
Investment banking income before tax was down 18 per cent on the quarter to SFr615m, reflecting lower fixed-income revenue.