Credit Suisse’s India unit sees top executives leave

Gaurav Pradhan and Rahul Bahety, co-head and director, respectively, of Credit Suisse’s India investment bank, have put in their papers, the people cited above said, adding a few others at junior levels are also on their way out.

Ashish Gupta, who heads Credit Suisse’s equity research in India, has also quit, CNBC TV18 reported on Friday.

Switzerland’s second-biggest lender has kicked off a restructuring to return to its wealth management roots after reporting a loss of $4.07 billion in the third quarter.

“The bank is undergoing strategic directional change; they have cut down their focus on financing, and some people have been moved from the investment banking team to wealth management. The overhaul is ongoing, and things will take time to settle down, so one could see more people leave the bank in the coming months,” one of the two people cited above said on the condition of anonymity.

An outside spokesperson for Credit Suisse declined to comment on the exits.

“Credit Suisse expects to run the bank with approximately 43,000 full-time-equivalent employees (FTE) by the end of 2025, compared with about 52,000 at the end of 3Q22, reflecting natural attrition and targeted headcount reductions. A headcount reduction of 2,700 FTE, or 5% of the group’s workforce, is already underway in 4Q22,” Credit Suisse said in response to Mint’s queries.

The Asia-Pacific region represents exciting opportunities and remains a key pillar of growth for the bank globally, it added.

“We have a leading wealth management business with one of the most successful localized franchises in the region. We remain fully committed to the region with a differentiated value proposition. The decisive actions announced to transform the bank will strengthen our franchise in the region with a laser focus on serving our clients,” Credit Suisse said.

The Credit Suisse overhaul recently saw the Saudi National Bank (SNB), majority-owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund and its largest lender, commit $1.5 billion to become a new strategic investor and take a 9.9% stake in the bank.

On Tuesday, the bank said it had struck a deal to sell a large part of its securitized products to US investment firm Apollo Global Management.

The agreement represents an important step towards a managed exit from the securitized products business, which is expected to significantly derisk the investment bank and release capital to invest in Credit Suisse’s core businesses, the Zurich-based lender said.

The transaction, along with the expected sale of other assets to third-party investors, is expected to decrease its securitized products assets from $75 billion to approximately $20 billion, the bank said.