Credit Suisse: Wednesday’s investor day is crucial

Credit Suisse is preparing a new cost-savings program that puts as many as 1,300 jobs in Switzerland on the line, according to Schweiz am Sonntag.

The plan will be announced Wednesday, when the lender holds its investor day in London, the newspaper said, without saying where it got the information. Credit Suisse’s Swiss unit may slash an additional 1,000 to 1,300 positions, or about eight to 10% of the unit’s workforce, it said. Last week, Bloomberg reported that the group is cutting about 175 jobs in London to lower costs, part of its overhaul that sees the lender focusing more on wealth management.

As of last month, the company still had to eliminate about 600 positions this year to reach its headcount goal and push costs below a target of 19.8 billion francs ($19.5 billion) in 2016. 

Credit Suisse didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam is under pressure to deepen cost cuts. The bank has been pulling back from costly debt-trading after losses on high-risk bets flared up earlier this year. A slump in its equities business, which the lender said it wants to grow, has added to difficulties at the global markets unit.
The bank on Wednesday will just have to finally come clean, and to name the cuts needed to achieve its targets.