02/13/2020
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02/13/2020
Tidjane Thiam will step down from Credit Suisse on a spike in group performance. The number two Swiss bank ended 2019 with a jump of 70% of its net profit, despite a 4th quarter below expectations.
The Director General will step down at the end of the week and be replaced by Thomas Gottestein.
“I am proud of what Credit Suisse has achieved during my tenure. We have put Credit Suisse back on track and our 2019 results show that we can be profitable for the long term. I will be enthusiastically supporting my colleagues while “They will continue to develop the business,” said Tidjane Thiam on Thursday, quoted in the press release.
The Franco-Ivorian took office in July 2015 and restructured the bank for three years, redirecting activities towards wealth management at the expense of merchant banking.
Annual profit soared 69% to 3.42 billion francs, according to indications provided by the Zurich banking giant. Operating income rose 7% to 22.48 billion francs. The Board of Directors proposes to pay a dividend of 0.2776 francs per share, compared to the compensation of 0.2625 francs for 2018.
In the fourth quarter, revenues swelled by 29% to 6.19 billion francs, including 4.0 billion attributable to wealth management, said the release. Operating expenses amounted to 4.83 billion, increased by 16%. Pre-tax profit was doubled to 1.21 billion, while net profit more than tripled (+ 229%) to 852 million.
These increases are to be put into perspective, the fourth quarter of 2018 had been marked by a stock market mini-crash which had sealed the results. Credit Suisse also misses the main forecasts of the AWP consensus, which expected a profit before taxes of 1.38 billion, a net profit of 881 million and a dividend of 0.2806 francs per share.
The group claims to have had a good start to the year, but remains cautious. Credit Suisse aims to increase its income in wealth management and increase profitability, according to the press release.
ats, awp
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