The boss of the Swiss Universal Bank, which Credit Suisse plans to list on the stock market, has given an update on the future legal structure of the unit and has good news for investors.
The Anglo-Saxon press has found a rather affectionate name for the Swiss unit of Credit Suisse (CS) – «Chubby», short for Credit Suisse Universal Bank. Thomas Gottstein, who manages the unit, is currently more concerned about LECH.
LECH for CHUB
LECH is the internal codeword for the construction of the new legal entity Credit Suisse (Schweiz) AG. The work is well on its way, Gottstein told Swiss business paper «Handelszeitung» in an interview (story in print only). The new legal entity will become operational on a yet to defined weekend in October or November of 2016, the CEO said.
LECH is a big job, no doubt about that. The project involves some 10,000 employees of the bank, 1.4 million customers, 1,200 IT-systems and -applications and will cost several hundred million Swiss francs.
IPO Remains on Track
The planned initial public offering (IPO) of the unit is equally on track, according to Gottstein. CS plans to take the Swiss unit to the market in 2017. The CEO of the Swiss unit predicts that the new stock will be a mouth-watering prospect for potential investors, being a very solid bank that will pay nice dividends to its shareholders.
Gottstein Wants to Deliver
Gottstein is confident of reaching the medium-term target of 2.3 billion francs in pretax profit by 2018 – pretty much like his colleague Iqbal Khan of the International Wealth Management unit. The head of the Swiss business at CS knows he has to deliver results.
The Swiss unit of CS won't be buying another bank in the coming 18 months, Gottstein told «Handelszeitung».
