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Thiam told a media briefing on the sidelines of the annual
Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong that he
was not concerned by the slower economic growth in China. The
CEO said he saw this as a natural development as the country
transforms itself into a consumption-driven economy rather than
one led by investment.
"We have been underweight (in) China and will continue to
invest," said Thiam, 53, who joined the Zurich-based bank in
July 2015. The banker said he would be spending five days in
China as part of his current Asia trip, meeting clients and
seeking to develop his understanding of their needs.
Thiam's focus on China comes at a time when Credit Suisse has
made wealth management a key plank for its future growth. The
bank is also shifting its focus to the Asia-Pacific region,
where it already has an important presence in Southeast Asia:
Thiam aims to more than double Asia-Pacific pre-tax income to
2.1 billion Swiss francs ($2.19 billion) by 2018.
China's blistering economic growth over the past decade has made
it home to a million high-net-worth individuals, according to
consultants Bain & Co, twice as many as in 2010. For foreign
banks, Asia - and China in particular - has become the new
battleground in developing wealth management business.
But making money onshore in China has proved a challenge for
most foreign banks, hampered by the heavily protected nature of
China's financial services sector.
Credit Suisse currently lacks an onshore license to operate
wealth management business in China, but is considering securing
one.
"Our strategy is primarily driven by wealth management and
private banking," Thiam said. "We have a good customer base.
Today we are offshore, but ultimately we will be onshore."
(Reporting by Denny Thomas and Lisa Jucca; Editing by Kenneth
Maxwell)
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