Credit Suisse prefers European Solution after Brexit

Credit Suisse is considering spreading its trading, investment-banking and wealth management activities across several European locations after Brexit,  «Bloomberg» reported, citing three sources on condition of anonymity.Switzerland’s second-largest bank is considering moving the activities affected by Brexit to a number of European cities, instead of replacing London with one large alternative location.

Frankfurt, Madrid and Paris are frontrunners for jobs including trading, investment banking and wealth management. The bank, run by CEO Tidjane Thiam, is backing away from Dublin and Amsterdam as potential choices, two of the people said. No final decision has been taken, Bloomberg added.

Credit Suisse currently is in talks with banking regulators in Germany, France and Spain, «Bloomberg» said. The regulators and Credit Suisse didn’t comment the information.

Credit Suisse is one of the few European lenders that have yet to outline plans for London-based operations after the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, set for March 2019. Although the company has scaled back trading to focus on wealth management, it remains one of the biggest investment banks in London, employing bankers in areas including derivatives, equities and advisory services.

UBS Group, Switzerland’s largest bank, is leaning toward Frankfurt for its trading headquarters inside the EU, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in August.