Credit Suisse keeps talent
CREDIT Suisse has been able to hold on to key talent and has accumulated a war chest it could use to make acquisitions, the chief executive of the Swiss bank Brady Dougan said yesterday.
Dougan, whose bank rode out the sub-prime mortgage crisis without having to resort to state aid, said the bank had been able to prevent employees from leaving during the crisis and was able to beef up its ranks again.
“Even during the crisis we were a very attractive employer. We could retain our people and… win over new employees, without having to give them long-term guarantees,” he said.
He said the lender would be able to attract new staff without offering guaranteed bonuses, pointing out that the bank was moving “in the direction of arranging the payment of bonuses according to risk and performance”. The bank has already launched a new compensation structure that involves employees receiving illiquid assets from a pool which was worth Sfr686m (£409m) when the plan was introduced and has since risen in value by 18 per cent.
Dougan said the bank also had sufficient capital to make purchases.
“Acquisitions are possible in all segments of private banking and asset management,” he said.