Awards for Excellence 2019
When Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam announced the overhaul of the bank’s wealth management business in October 2015 as part of the bank-wide three-year turnaround plan, it looked risky.
The US wealth business was shuttered, lending was tightened and the regions across the world were put under their own leadership. But in an era that had seen private banks go global or retreat to their domestic markets, Credit Suisse was, it seemed, creating a new path, one of an ‘international’ wealth manager.
The result has been a leaner, slicker, more agile business – and its earnings reflect the strategy’s success.
Last year, wealth management revenues increased, costs fell and pre-tax income was up 24% year on year. In the first quarter of 2019, the bank reported record wealth management assets under management of SFr786.1 billion ($805 billion). This year, Credit Suisse is the world’s best bank in wealth management.
A key part of the restructuring focused on separating wealth management into three divisions: International Wealth Management (IWM), the Swiss Universal Bank and Asia Pacific (Apac).