Credit Suisse changes CEO after losing more than 1.9 billion through June

MADRID, 27 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Credit Suisse has announced the appointment of Ulrich Körner as the entity's new CEO from August 1, replacing Thomas Gottstein, who has resigned, after the Swiss bank recorded losses of 1,866 million francs ( 1,904 million euros) in the first half of 2022 and has announced a program to reduce its cost base to below 15,500 million francs (15,816 million euros) in the medium term.

The second largest Swiss bank recorded losses of 1,866 million francs (1,904 million euros) in the first six months of 2022, compared to a profit of 1 million francs (1.02 million euros) recorded in the first half of the previous year .

Credit Suisse's net turnover between January and June stood at 8,057 million Swiss francs (8,221 million euros), which represents a year-on-year drop of 36.4%.

Specifically, revenues from the wealth management area fell by 39%, to 2,443 million francs (2,493 million euros) and those of the investment banking business fell 47%, to 3,047 million francs (3,109 million euros). , while the Swiss banking unit had a turnover of 2,159 million francs (2,203 million euros), 5% more, and the asset management business fell by 18%, to 672 million francs (686 million euros).

Between April and June, Credit Suisse recorded losses of 1,593 million Swiss francs (1,625 million euros), in contrast to profits of 253 million francs (258 million euros) in the second quarter of 2021, while its figure of net business decreased by 28.6%, to 3,645 million francs (3,719 million euros).

"Our results for the second quarter of 2022 are disappointing, especially in investment banking, and were also affected by higher provisions for litigation and other adjustment elements," said Thomas Gottstein, CEO of Credit Suisse, who defended that the The bank's performance was greatly affected by external factors, including geopolitical, macroeconomic and market headwinds.

On the other hand, Credit Suisse highlighted that it maintained a resilient capital base with a CET1 capital ratio of 13.5% at the end of the second quarter, in line with forecasts, while the CET1 leverage ratio and the Tier 2 leverage ratio 1 remained stable at 4.3% and 6.1%, respectively.

The bank announced this Wednesday the appointment of Ulrich Körner as the entity's new CEO from August 1, 2022, when he will replace Thomas Gottstein, who held the direction of Credit Suisse since the beginning of 2020 and has submitted his resignation.

Ulrich Körner joined Credit Suisse on April 1, 2021 from rival UBS, where he spent eleven years, taking on the role of Managing Director of Asset Management. Prior to joining UBS, he was an executive at Credit Suisse, holding various positions including CFO and COO of Credit Suisse Financial Services and CEO of Switzerland.

"This is a difficult undertaking, but at the same time it represents a great opportunity to position the bank for a successful future and to realize its full potential," said Ulrich Körner after his appointment.

"Ueli will drive our strategic and operational transformation, building on existing strengths and accelerating growth in key business areas (...) Our goal must be to become a stronger, simpler and more efficient Group with more sustainable returns," said Axel. P. Lehmann, Chairman of Credit Suisse.

In this regard, the bank has announced the start of a program to reduce its absolute cost base to below 15,500 million Swiss francs (15,816 million euros) in the medium term.