‘Radical surgery’: Will Credit Suisse’s gamble pay off?
When Credit Suisse executives struck a plan to spin off its capital markets and advisory business in the summer, they chose a name that harked back to its 1980s glory days: First Boston.
But as the strategy developed, they soon realised the intellectual property for the brand was already owned by a series of small financial services businesses who refused to sell.
Instead, the bank settled on the name CS First Boston for the business that it plans to list next year as part of a restructuring of the group.
Though Credit Suisse shareholders said they were apprehensive about Saudi influence on the bank, these concerns were not shared by its senior executives.
“The region is important to us from a wealth perspective, so it’s important to have large investors who are there,” said a person involved in discussions over the SNB investment. “Some other investors may have concerns, but it’s not something we worry about.”
Additional reporting by Samer Al-Atrush in Riyadh and Stephen Morris in London
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Andrew England
