The Swiss bank handily boosted its mobile user numbers past a target which is bonus-relevant, reportedly through a stealth move with its existing clients.
«Established significant CSX client base with half of clients below 35 years of age,» Credit Suisse said in its 2020 annual report, among the criteria by which its top management was evaluated for bonus awards last year.
The Swiss bank hit this – and then some – shortly before year-end: «Of the total client base of over 100,000 CSX clients, half are under the age of 34,» it said in a statement on Friday. Credit Suisse is aiming CSX at young, digitally savvy customers, but is also seeking to offer a full range of banking services.
Swss Sleight Of Hand
A closer look at how Credit Suisse arrived at the 100,000 new clients within just one year reveals a marketing sleight of hand: the Swiss bank wrote clients using a basic banking package whether they could be transferred into CSX.
Instead of granting permission, the recipients were asked to respond if they elected not to move to CSX, Swiss daily «Tages-Anzeiger» (behind paywall, in German) reported on Friday. The bank didn't disclose how many clients it re-categorized into CSX.
Revolut Steals A March
After a big build-up to the launch last autumn, CSX went somewhat quiet for the project, finews.com reported in June. Credit Suisse’s reputation has suffered after its failure to manage risk properly led to huge losses from the collapse of supply chain lender Greensill Capital and hedge fund Archegos.
The Zurich-based bank sent CSX into a crowded race: mobile bank Neon's 80,000 users are within striking distance of Credit Suisse's 100,000. Postfinance and Swissquote joint venture Yuh has more than 30,000 clients while Zak, launched by Basel's cantonal bank, tallies 45,000. By far the dominant player in Switzerland however is Revolut, with more than 350,000 users.
