Credit Suisse chief plans to axe 5,500 further jobs

Banking giant Credit Suisse intends to cut more than 5,500 jobs this year as it extends its cost-cutting drive under chief executive Tidjane Thiam.

Credit Suisse is planning to cut thousands of jobs as it seeks to reduce costs. Picture: Peter Klaunzer/Keystone via AP

It adds to the 7,250 staff cuts that took place last year as part of major restructuring plans introduced by Thiam in a bid to reduce risk and trim costs at the Zurich-based lender to less than SFr17 billion Swiss francs (£13.6bn) by the end of 2018.

That goal will require further reductions over the next two years, having reported adjusted operating expenses of SFr19.38bn last year.

News of further job cuts came as Credit Suisse announced an annual net loss of SFr2.4bn for 2016, down from SFr2.9bn in 2015, as annual net revenues dropped 15 per cent to SFr20.3bn.

Thiam said 2016 “was the first full year of implementing our new strategy and it was a challenging and busy 12 months. Thanks to our strong client franchise and the dedication of our teams, we have made good progress on our key objectives.”

He added: “We believe we are well-positioned to continue to make progress with our restructuring programme in 2017 and 2018, and to capture profitable growth opportunities across our franchises and geographies.”

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Thiam joined Credit Suisse in 2015 after serving as chief executive of insurer Prudential, and has sought to refocus the Swiss group on private banking and away from riskier investment banking. The company recently put an end to a key legal dispute with the US Department of Justice related to its residential mortgage-backed securities business.

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