Credit Suisse's head of Switzerland is convinced that the bank will overcome the severe turbulence engulfing it. But the loss of clients hurts, says André Helfenstein.
Following intraday losses of over 30 percent at times yesterday, the top management of the crisis-ridden Credit Suisse is now turning to the public. André Helfenstein, who is responsible for the Swiss home market, did so in an interview with the daily newspaper «Blick» (in German).
The interview was conducted before the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) issued a joint statement of support for the bank, with the SNB offering to provide liquidity, an offer which Credit Suisse took up today.
The Credit Suisse executive declined to comment on statements made by the chairman of the Saudi National Bank, a major shareholder. Ammar Al Khudairy said the Saudi National Bank would not infuse more capital into Credit Suisse. Although that is not a new position from the Saudi bank, it accelerated the bank's share price plunge on Wednesday.
Stock Price and Bank Security
Helfenstein saw the trigger for the share price crash stemming from bank failures in the US. Due to its current restructuring, Credit Suisse is under increased scrutiny in the financial markets. As the statement from the Swiss National Bank underscored, Credit Suisse is much better regulated and does very different business than American regional banks like the shuttered Silicon Valley Bank, he explained.
«The problem is that the share price is often compared 1:1 with the safety of the bank,» which is not the case. Credit Suisse leadership is committed to «bringing the share price back up.»
Can-do Attitude
There are two important things for Credit Suisse to do. The first is to be close to its customers, and the second is to consistently continue restructuring the bank. «We can do it,» said Helfenstein, who has headed the Swiss business in changing structures since 2020.
Its home market is currently the strongest pillar of the Credit Suisse Group with the unit very well-capitalized and profitable.
Nevertheless, Helfenstein's Swiss Bank has also lost customers and billions in funds and deposits in recent months. The loss of customers hurts, he told the newspaper. But the bank is now working to bring customers back into its fold, offering special conditions in individual cases.
