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 Credit Suisse Chairman Urs Rohner said long-standing boss Brady
Dougan was stepping down as chief executive at the end of June and
would be replaced by Thiam, who has been Prudential chief since 2009
and seen its share price rise more than 200 percent in the past 5
years.
A former government minister in Ivory Coast and a partner at
consulting firm McKinsey & Co, Thiam become the first black CEO of a
FTSE 100 company when he moved to the top job at Prudential from
insurer Aviva, but has not run a bank.
Dougan has faced calls to quit since last year when Credit Suisse
reached a $2.5 billion settlement with U.S. authorities for helping
Americans evade taxes via secret bank accounts. The American is
leaving after 25 years at Credit Suisse, eight of those as CEO.
Rohner said Thiam's international experience, particularly in wealth
and asset management and developing new markets, laid the foundation
for his appointment, which was reported overnight by various news
outlets including Reuters.
"With Tidjane Thiam, a strong and distinguished leader with an
impressive track record in the global financial services industry
will take the helm of our bank," Rohner said.
Shares in the Zurich-based Swiss bank surged as much as 9 percent on
news the management change. At 0541 ET, the shares were trading 7.5
percent higher at 24.94 Swiss francs.
Thiam's appointment comes as Credit Suisse's efforts to balance its
business more equally between a more dominant investment bank and
its wealth management division have stalled.
A Zurich-based brokerage salesman said the restructuring drive may
now benefit from "a fresh pair of eyes".
"In addition, let's not forget that Thiam has direct experience in
the Asia life and savings market, where Credit Suisse will seek to
have greater aspirations via its Asian footprint within wealth
management," the salesman wrote.
One UK-based fund manager said Thiam's appointment signaled a shift
in the bank's priorities.
"Thiam's background in insurance and asset management suggests
Credit Suisse's focus is moving increasingly away from investment
banking," said the manager, who was reviewing his position after
selling the bank's shares on concerns about capital requirements.
"I'd like to see his plans first though."
Dougan said in a statement that he had "tremendous respect" for his
replacement. "Now is the right time for the organization and for me
to transition out of the CEO role," he said.
FRESH PAIR OF EYES
Despite failing to overcome a shareholder rebellion when attempting
to take over Asia-focused insurer AIA in 2010, French-speaking Thiam
has brought value to Prudential's investors by focusing on Asia as a
key driver of profit.
"Tidjane will have a broader view," Sally Yim, vice president at
Moody's Investors Service, said before Credit Suisse made the
announcement.
"Credit Suisse has had different issues throughout the years and
someone with a diverse background could look at its strategy with a
fresh pair of eyes."
Prudential, Britain's largest insurer by market value, confirmed
Thiam's departure as it reported a 14 percent rise in operating
profit in 2014.
The firm said a successor has been identified and would be announced
after the regulatory approval process. Thiam is expected to remain
in place until after the company reports first quarter figures in
May.
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Prudential shares were suspended from trading in Hong Kong ahead of
the announcement. The stock has risen 200 percent in London under
Thiam's watch, outperforming the 36 percent gain in the FTSE index.
"Credit Suisse needs a safe pair of hands to re-tool the business in
an investor friendly way," a Hong Kong-based investment banker who
worked closely with Thiam said before the announcement. "That means
they will re-focus more on Asia."
He said private banking and asset management could be areas the bank
would want to explore further in Asia.
LEGACY
Dougan is one of only three global bank CEOs still in the job
following the financial crisis, alongside JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon
and Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs.
The bank's board backed him over the deal with U.S. regulators,
under which Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to criminal charges but
kept its New York licence and its legally protected client data, but
he was criticized by some politicians and media in Switzerland.
The Illinois native, who became CEO in 2007, was also criticized for
sticking with an investment banking strategy at a time when that
business was falling out of favor.
Cross-town Zurich rival UBS made a high-profile withdrawal from
investment banking, regarded by many in Switzerland as too risky
following the financial crisis.
Recent troubles aside, Dougan has generally been a well-regarded
outsider in the Swiss banking community.
He won plaudits from investors for steering Switzerland's
second-largest bank through the post-Lehman Brothers turmoil,
cutting riskier trading activities and avoiding getting entangled in
U.S. subprime mortgages to the same degree as UBS, which took a
state bailout in 2008.
One of the best-paid bankers in the world with an annual salary
topping 90 million Swiss francs ($91 million) five years ago, he
recently saw a pay cut as part of cost-cutting measures taken by the
bank to tackle the surge in the Swiss franc.
($1 = 0.9898 Swiss francs)
(Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru, Denny Thomas in
Hong Kong, David Henry in New York, Alexander Smith in London and
Katharina Bart in Zurich; Writing by Alexander Smith and Lisa Jucca;
Editing by Sinead Cruise and David Clarke)
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