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Logo of Credit Suisse Bank in Geneva, Switzerland on June 9, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), plagued by a string of scandals, management changes and a global strategic realignment, is still betting big on China and could make a fortune in China next year. I am planning to start a business. A senior Asian executive said:

“China is a long-term strategy for us, despite rumors circulating that Credit Suisse is exiting or exiting China,” said Benjamin, head of the firm’s Asia-Pacific wealth management business. Cavalli said in an interview with Reuters.

The bank aims to launch wealth management services in China next year on the back of securing full ownership of a local brokerage, likely by the first quarter of next year, Cavalli said. said Mr.

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Credit Suisse’s expansion plans in China come despite the bank cutting staff and costs elsewhere as it recovers from a string of losses and scandals. In May, it appointed its wealth management boss as the new CEO.read more

Credit Suisse’s plans for a previously unreported China wealth business next year are also looming, following some media reports that it is reviewing its China business.

On Thursday, Reuters reported that Switzerland’s second-largest bank, calling 2022 the “year of transition”, is considering cutting about 5,000 jobs across the group.

Cavalli said the bank is taking a long-term view of China given its huge potential to sell wealth management products to the wealthy in the world’s second-largest economy.

“We never enter a new market where we feel like we have to pay back our investment in three or four years and pull the trigger.This is different from Credit Suisse,” Singapore.

China’s wealth management market reached 29 trillion yuan ($4.2 trillion) as of June, according to official data, with banks highlighting household wealth growing faster than economic growth. .

Chinese banks dominate the distribution of proprietary and third-party asset products in a country that is in increasing demand from high net worth individuals and high net worth individuals.

Risk-off mode

Credit Suisse’s China securities venture has been delayed by many factors, including employee retirements, but the bank has already replaced some senior executives and is hiring more, Cavalli said.

The expected regulatory site inspections will follow soon, he said.

“We expect the full acquisition of the securities joint venture to be in the fourth or first quarter of next year,” Banker said.

Two years ago, Credit Suisse said it was considering raising its stake in the joint venture to 51% and taking full ownership.

Credit Suisse already employs 50 staff for its wealth business, including relationship managers, investment consultants and people involved in managing discretionary offerings, he said.

Once the bank has obtained approval to take full ownership of the securities venture, the process of an asset management license will follow.

“The Chinese asset pool is important. If I could get 2% to 3% of the asset pool, that would be the starting point and we would have already done a lot.”

Credit Suisse’s wealthy clients in Asia, like other markets in the region, are in risk-off mode, as financial markets have been hit since late 2021 and inflation fears persist.

“There is little light at the end of the tunnel to suggest a possible recovery or that sentiment could soon turn positive,” Cavalli said.

Still, the bank’s extensive footprint with onshore wealth businesses in Japan, Australia, Thailand and India, along with offshore wealth centers in Singapore and Hong Kong, has helped balance some of the market volatility. there is, he said.

($1 = 6.9021 Chinese Yuan)

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Reported by Anshuman Daga. Edited by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kim Coghill

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