Credit Suisse’s CEO Is Calm About Emerging Markets, With One Caveat

(Bloomberg) -- Amid turmoil in emerging markets and concern about a potential contagion, Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam is keeping calm.

“I never really worry about emerging-market crises. The emerging markets that are well-managed are fine and that’s all there is to it,” Thiam said Wednesday at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York. The Zurich-based lender is focusing on managing money for the wealthy in emerging markets.

Thiam, 56, said markets are more likely to punish economies that aren’t properly monitored -- regardless of development status. He said countries must have balanced budgets, reasonable foreign currency reserves and debt-to-GDP ratios and adequate account balances.

“The penalty for a country for being poorly managed is much higher; emerging economies have to be well managed,” Thiam said. “Well-managed economies are safe. If they happen to be emerging, so be it, but then poorly managed economies are unsafe.”

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