Credit Suisse plans to cut down its China business and review long-term plans after suffering billions of dollars in losses. New CEO Ulrich Koerner and Asia-Pacific head Edwin Low will meet in Singapore next week to review their mainland China business strategy. As per reports, senior executives have raised doubts about existing securities activities and expanding its wealth management business in China. After hiring new staff and investing heavily, the lender is now considering whether they should reduce their business in China. A spokesperson for Credit Suisse said, “The Asia Pacific is an important growth market for Credit Suisse, and we are committed to investing in the region… we will update on the progress of our comprehensive strategic review when we announce our third-quarter earnings, but any reporting on potential outcomes before that is purely speculative.”
In recent months several senior employees at Credit Suisse’s China securities venture have left – this includes the CFO, compliance head, and Chief Information Officer. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has told the lender to fix the high turnover of senior employees before rolling out its business expansion in mainland China and to make preparations for on-site inspection. For context, Credit Suisse had gotten approval to take control of its Chinese venture two years back, but the bank has still not been given the go-ahead to expand the business.
Credit Suisse’s 4.5% Perps callable in 2030 are trading at 67.3, up 0.22 points to yield 8.24%.
