Credit Suisse Names New Asset Management Chief

Investment banking and Credit Suisse veteran Eric Varvel will lead the bank’s global asset management business, effective June 1.

Eric Varvel_1Eric Varvel, Credit SuisseCredit Suisse has announced a new leader for its global asset management business.

Eric Varvel—former co-head of investment banking and current chairman of the emerging markets and sovereign wealth funds—will replace Bob Jain effective June 1, the firm announced yesterday. Jain is reported to be leaving the Swiss bank to join billionaire Izzy Englander’s hedge fund Millennium Management as co-CIO.

As the new global head of asset management, Varvel will report to Iqbal Kahn, CEO of the international wealth management division. He will be based in New York, with frequent travel to Switzerland and “various emerging markets, including in the Asia-Pacific region,” Credit Suisse said.

“We are confident that [Varvel’s] global experience, track record, and expertise will significantly contribute to the further development of our asset management franchise and to the achievement of our ambitious goals,” Khan said in a statement. 

The CEO also praised Varvel’s “strong relationships with many strategic clients” in the hopes of benefiting the bank’s asset management business.

According to the announcement, Varvel will be tasked with growing Credit Suisse’s alternatives investments initiative, strengthening the bank’s position in Switzerland, and developing the business in emerging markets and Europe.

Varvel has spent more than 25 years at Credit Suisse, during which he served as a member of the executive board (2008 to 2014) and CEO of the investment bank as well as of the Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions.

Last October, Credit Suisse’s new Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam announced an overhaul of the bank, including plans to raise $6.3 billion in new capital as well as reducing its investment business to redeploy resources to its wealth management unit. 

The firm also announced Tuesday it had posted a CHF 302 million ($309 million) loss for the first quarter in 2016 despite achieving “significant cost savings across the bank.” Thiam said difficult markets conditions during the period led to such losses.

“We remain convinced that we face attractive long-term opportunities in our wealth management-focused divisions, supported by investment banking capabilities, and that our strategy will, over time, create value for our clients and shareholders,” he concluded.

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