Credit Suisse to review China business in strategy revamp amid executive exodus, losses
- Credit Suisse says ‘we continue to invest in our China footprint’ and any reporting on potential outcomes before the review ‘is purely speculative’
- An exodus of senior executives at its securities venture has delayed regulatory approval, buildout of equities trading and wealth offerings
Chief Executive Officer Ulrich Koerner and Asia-Pacific head Edwin Low are among top bankers set to meet in Singapore next week to discuss topics including their view on the China business, according to people familiar with the matter.
Senior executives at Credit Suisse have raised doubts on the benefits of building out its existing securities activities and expanding wealth management in the country, the people said, asking not to be named because the talks are private.
Any downsizing of Credit Suisse’s ambitions in the world’s second-largest economy would be a dramatic turnaround, two years after it won approval to take control of its local venture as part of Beijing’s much-vaunted opening to outside financial firms. An exodus of senior executives at its securities venture, partly a sign of the firm’s wider troubles, has delayed regulatory approval that would allow the buildout of equities trading and wealth offerings.
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Top executives plan to consider whether they should reduce their business in China, even after hiring new staff and investing heavily, the people said. Asia managers are making a case to executives in Zurich that China is still a place to invest, one of the people said. The bank is planning to also cut back the investment bank after a string of losses.