Arnd Wiegmann/ReutersA branch of Credit Suisse in Basel, Switzerland.LONDON – Credit Suisse shook up its management team on Tuesday, appointing a co-head of investment banking and merging its asset management division into its wealth management and private banking unit.
The announcement comes less than a month after Credit Suisse said it would find additional cost savings totaling 1 billion Swiss francs by 2015. The bank now expects to save a combined 4 billion francs ($4.25 billion), partly from the previously announced layoffs of 3,500 workers.
“The changes announced today represent the next step in the continued development of our businesses toward achieving the targets that we have laid out,” Credit Suisse’s chief executive, Brady W. Dougan, said in a statement.
Credit Suisse is not the only Swiss bank making changes in response to the continuing financial crisis. Last month, UBS said it would eliminate 10,000 jobs and pull back from riskier trading operations to focus on its profitable wealth management business.
On Tuesday, Credit Suisse said Hans-Ulrich Meister and Robert Shafir would jointly run the reorganized wealth management and private banking unit, which will also include the bank’s Swiss trading operations.
Mr. Meister, currently head of Credit Suisse’s private banking operations, will continue to oversee that business in Europe and the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Shafir, the current head of asset management, will oversee private banking and wealth management products and look after private banking in the Americas.
Credit Suisse also said Gael de Boissard would become co-leader of its investment bank with the unit’s current chief, Eric Varvel. Mr. de Boissard has been appointed head of the fixed-income business and will join the bank’s executive committee early next year. He will also become head of Credit Suisse’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Mr. Varvel will continue to oversee the equities and advisory division, as well as serve as the bank’s chief in the Asia-Pacific region.
The changes in the investment banking unit will lead to the departure of Osama Abbasi and Fawzi Kyriakos-Saad, the current heads of the bank’s Asia-Pacific and European regional operations, respectively, according to a statement from the bank. Walter Berchtold, Credit Suisse’s private banking chairman, is also stepping down.
Shares in Credit Suisse fell 2.7 percent in morning trading in Zurich on Tuesday.