The private banking and asset management divisions will be combined to form what the Zurich-listed firm calls its Private Banking & Wealth Management Division. Hans-Ulrich Meister and Robert Shafir will partner in leading it, Credit Suisse said in a statement today.

As part of the restructure, the roles of dedicated chief executive for Asia-Pacific and EMEA no longer exist. Osama Abbasi and Fawzi Kyriakos-Saad, who serve as CEOs for those two regions, are leaving the firm. Walter Berchtold, chairman of private banking, has told the bank he is to step down, ending a career at Credit Suisse of more than 30 years.

The bank recently sold Clariden Leu (Europe), its wholly-owned subsidiary that is based in London, to Swiss-based Falcon Private Bank. Credit Suisse is also, like its rival UBS, cutting costs and reducing exposures in some of its investment banking business. In its latest quarterly results, meanwhile, Credit Suisse said that its private banking arm reported net revenues of SFr2.591 billion (around $2.78 billion) in the third quarter of 2012, down 4 per cent on the previous three months and steady from a year ago, reflecting margin pressures where client activity has weakened and due to higher costs. Pre-tax income, at SFr689 million in the quarter, fell 11 per cent from the previous three months but rose sharply – 233 per cent – from a year ago.

Changes

Elaborating on the details, Credit Suisse said Meister continues to lead private banking in Switzerland, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific, as well as all Swiss client businesses. Shafir will head private banking and wealth management products and private banking in the Americas.

Eric Varvel and Gael de Boissard will head the investment banking division, Credit Suisse said.

Varvel is to head the equities and investment banking department and to serve as head of the Asia-Pacific region. De Boissard is to continue to head the fixed income department and to serve as head of EMEA region, and will be appointed to the executive board.

Varvel has lengthy experience in these countries, the bank said, “which makes him ideally suited for this role”, it said.

De Boissard will take on responsibility as chief executive of the EMEA region and, subject to regulatory approval, will also be CEO of the UK entities Credit Suisse International and Credit Suisse Securities (Europe). “This is consistent with regulators’ preference to have effective alignment between legal entities and management structure,” the bank said.

The investment banking securities platform in Switzerland will be moved into private banking and wealth management and report to Shafir and Meister. The Solution Partners group will also report jointly to these men.

“The changes announced today are a stepping-up of our strategy. They will better align product development, advice and distribution, and they will further reduce complexity across the bank for the benefit of all our clients and stakeholders. We are convinced they will help us focus on our strengths in our chosen businesses and markets globally,” Urs Rohner, chairman of the bank’s board of directors, said.