Credit Suisse's Thiam Bullish on Economy as Regions Grow in Sync
Credit Suisse's Thiam Bullish on Economy as Regions Grow in Sync
(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said he’s very optimistic about the global economy as the U.S., Asia and Europe grow in lockstep.
“We are very positive about the world economy” including Europe, “which is new,” Thiam said Tuesday in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “For once, we have the three major economic zones doing well at the same time.”
Credit Suisse is two years through a three-year overhaul aimed at reducing reliance on volatile trading in favor of wealth management and emerging markets. Thiam, who is scheduled to update investors Thursday on his strategy, has cut thousands of jobs, sold off risky legacy assets, and raised more than 10 billion francs ($10.2 billion) from two share sales since announcing his plan in 2015.
Challenges remain, including a surprise multi-nation tax probe and the attack of an activist investor pushing for a break-up of the bank. The activist, Rudolf Bohli, has so far struggled to gain traction as key Credit Suisse shareholders signaled support for Thiam.
Credit Suisse shares rose 15 percent this year through Monday. They’re still down about 31 percent since Thiam first announced his overhaul plan.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jan-Henrik Förster in Zurich at jforster20@bloomberg.net, Francine Lacqua in London at flacqua@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Christian Baumgaertel
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