Credit Suisse Switzerland head André Helfenstein is renovating his business unit, and making key personnel changes along the way, finews.com has learned.

As part of a reorganization announced last November, the Swiss unit of Credit Suisse will be undergoing changes in one of the most important groups in the company, the bank said in an internal memo seen by  finews.com.  

Instead of being integrated into the wealth management (WM) division headed by Francesco De Ferrari, Private Banking Switzerland will be incorporated into «Swiss Bank,» starting April 2022. This includes businesses with retail, corporate and institutional clients who have assets starting at 250,000  to over several million Swiss francs the memo said. 

Swiss Bank

Serge Fehr will continue to be responsible for the group, reporting directly to André Helfenstein, who is CEO of Swiss Bank and Switzerland.

«We have carefully weighed the pros and cons of different models and concluded that serving our Private Banking affluent and high-net-worth clients out of Swiss Bank is the best way to play to our strengths and realize our strategic ambitions. 

For that reason, Serge and I will closely collaborate with our colleagues in wealth management and Serge will continue to have a dotted reporting line to Francesco De Ferrari and be a member of the wealth management front coverage committee.»

Additional appointments were announced in the memo.

Head of Technology

Retail banking and its various distribution channels, physical, telephone and digital, will be combined into a single personal & business banking business unit, for which Anke Bridge Haux is responsible.

In addition, Credit Suisse is appointing Kirsten Renner as chief technology & information officer (CTIO) for Switzerland and placing her on the executive board of «Swiss Bank,» subject to Finma's approval. Helfenstein wrote that 

New Products

The product development areas currently residing in digital banking, will be transferred to a new products & strategy unit to be headed by Martin Mende.

Most of the teams of the SUB Sales & GTS Switzerland units will become part of wealth management or the investment bank, while employees in the pension business and in the business with foundations will remain in «Swiss Bank.»

Due to these changes, it was announced that Damian Hoop, who previously headed the now-dissolved SUB Sales & GTS Switzerland division, is stepping down from the executive board of Credit Suisse (Switzerland). 

Employees in the pension business and those working with foundations, will remain in «Swiss Bank.»