Credit Suisse's U.S. Private-Banking Chief Departs
November 16 2015 - 10:43AM
Dow Jones News
By John Letzing
ZURICH-- Credit Suisse Group AG is parting company with longtime
executive and U.S. private banking head Philip Vasan, according to
an internal memo, in the latest sign of the strategic shake-up at
the Swiss bank.
Credit Suisse is shifting focus under recently appointed Chief
Executive Tidjane Thiam, who took over in July, focusing its
private-banking efforts in Asia among other changes.
The Zurich-based bank said last month that it would unload its
U.S.-based private-banking business to Wells Fargo & Co. by
next year.
Mr. Vasan will be leaving Credit Suisse in the spring after the
expected transfer of the private-banking assets to Wells Fargo,
according to the memo which has been seen by The Wall Street
Journal. The banker has been with Credit Suisse for more than two
decades, most recently in charge of the U.S. private banking.
Before that, Mr. Vasan had a successfully run Credit Suisse's
prime-brokerage unit providing services to hedge funds.
The U.S. is just one of a number of foreign markets where Credit
Suisse has closed wealth management offerings in recent years, as
it has sought to cut costs and focus on more profitable
regions.
Under the new strategy unveiled by Mr. Thiam last month, the
bank will redouble its wealth management efforts in Asia, where
demand for banking services for the wealthy is soaring, while
cutting back in the U.S.
"In the U.S., our domestic private banking business isn't
currently positioned to compete in scale without significant
investment or acquisition," Credit Suisse said last month, as part
of an announcement regarding its strategy shift.
Other changes under way at the bank include cutting the amount
of capital used by Credit Suisse's investment bank, and a new
effort to bolster the bank's presence in the domestic Swiss
market.
Mr. Thiam last month announced a series of changes to the bank's
executive board, including the departure of Mr. Vasan's boss Rob
Shafir as co-head of private banking and wealth management. Mr.
Shafir continues to serve as chairman of the Americas for Credit
Suisse, which offers investment-banking and asset-management
services in the region.
Mr. Shafir's counterpart, former co-head of private banking
Hans-Ulrich Meister, also stepped down from the bank's executive
board.
As it seeks to revamp, Credit Suisse is raising a significant
amount of new capital to bolster its efforts. On Thursday, the bank
will hold a shareholder meeting in Switzerland, to stage votes on
management's plans to raise roughly 6 billion Swiss francs ($6
billion) in fresh capital via a private placement to investors and
a rights offering to existing shareholders.
--Jenny Strasburg contributed to this article
Write to John Letzing at john.letzing@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 16, 2015 10:28 ET (15:28 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024