Credit Suisse Group AG
Credit Suisse Group AG is a Switzerland-based financial services and investment firm, known for its extensive global operations across more than fifty countries. Established in 1856 to support Switzerland's railway development, the bank evolved into a prominent player in the financial sector, providing investment and private banking services alongside asset management. As a top-tier or Bulge Bracket bank, its clientele primarily includes large corporations, institutions, and governments, allowing it to amass significant assets totaling approximately 1,512 billion CHF by the end of 2022.
Despite its historical prominence, Credit Suisse faced a series of internal and external challenges over the years, including scandals related to tax avoidance and fraudulent activities. These issues accumulated, leading to its collapse in March 2023 after a tumultuous period marked by poor investment decisions and leadership changes. The bank was subsequently acquired by UBS, a rival Swiss institution, which plans to dismantle Credit Suisse's operations. This acquisition was significant in preventing potential global economic fallout, given Credit Suisse's status as a systemically important financial institution. Throughout its history, Credit Suisse has been both innovative and controversial, highlighting the complexities of large financial entities in today's economic landscape.
Credit Suisse Group AG
Company information
- Date founded: 1856
- Industry: Global wealth management
- Corporate Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland
- Type: Public
Overview
Credit Suisse Group AG is a Switzerland-based joint-stock investment and financial group that operates in more than fifty countries. It functions as a holding company that owns Credit Suisse Bank and other related financial services interests. The “AG” in the group name means “aktiengesellschaft” or “public company.” Credit Suisse provides investment and private banking services, along with asset management. It is considered a top-tier or Bulge Bracket bank, meaning its global client base consists of large corporations, institutions, or governments. The company was founded in 1856 with the intent of providing financial backing to develop Switzerland’s railway system through government loans. By the 1900s, the shift toward banking was made to meet the needs of the economic growth of the Swiss middle class. In the later part of the twentieth century, the company acquired more financial institutions as it grew. It is governed by a board of directors, shareholders, and independent auditors. As of the end of 2023, Credit Suisse employed 28,840 people according to their annual report. In March 2023, Credit Suisse collapsed and was purchased by a Swiss banking competitor.
History
Alfred Escher founded the company Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (SKA) in 1856 when the federal constitution of Switzerland was only eight years old. He was a well-known Swiss politician and businessperson who wanted to help promote the industrialization of his home country of Switzerland as it shifted away from its historical industry of agriculture. He understood that by expanding the railway network through private domestic funding, business and industry were sure to follow. He modeled his Swiss commercial investment bank after French banks that funded railway projects. Initially, a quarter of the bank’s revenue came from the Swiss Northeastern Railway company, which Escher’s company, Nordostbahn, was building.
By 1870, SKA opened its first foreign representative office in New York City, New York. With the development of the railway that connected Switzerland to the European rail system by 1882, Switzerland was growing economically. As owner of the largest bank in that country, Escher played an important role in developing the currency system in 1871 and promoted other Swiss entrepreneurs to invest in the country. His company also helped to fund Switzerland’s electrical grid system through a collaboration of influential financial organizations.
Although the young country’s economy was growing, in 1886, SKA posted losses due to economic challenges in the industries of agriculture, venture investments, commodities, and international trade. However, by 1905, SKA acquired Oberrheinishche Bank in Basel, Switzerland, and opened its first branch outside of its home city of Zurich. Growth in the banking industry continued, and SKA became an industry leader in global financial services as Switzerland became the banking capital of the world.
During World War I, Europe faced a coal shortage. SKA helped to finance the conversion of the Swiss railway to electricity in 1924 and continued to provide financial support to the infrastructure needed to provide electricity to the country. Following World War II, the bank helped to fund the post-war reconstruction in Europe.
In 1968 with the emergence of a free gold precious metals market, Credit Suisse acquired Valcambi S.A., which is a leading manufacturer of the world’s gold ingots, bars, and coins. This allowed Credit Suisse to become a major player in gold trading. By 1970, Credit Suisse had offices on every continent in the world except Antarctica and was growing. In 1986, it became the first Swiss bank to acquire a West German bank, Effectenbank.
In 1988, Credit Suisse embarked on a joint venture with New York investment bank First Boston, creating Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), and the following year it acquired the London stock brokerage firm, Buckmaster and Moore. In 1990, it acquired Switzerland’s oldest bank, Bank Leu, and it purchased another large Swiss bank, Volksbank, in 1993. By the late 1990s, it was known for its aggressive acquisition strategies. In 1997, it renamed the company Credit Suisse Group and restructured operations into four divisions for domestic banking, private banking, asset management, and corporate and investment banking.
Further restructuring came in the 2000s. It was consolidated into Credit Suisse First Boston and Credit Suisse Financial Services in 2002. In 2004, another division was added for insurance, and more board restructuring occurred. Although Credit Suisse was not affected as much as other financial institutions during the financial crisis of 2008, it still suffered losses and was forced to cut costs.
In 2019, Credit Suisse Group announced that it would shift more focus toward digital retail products with “direct banking” in an attempt to connect with global clients via technology. In 2020, new CEO Thomas Gottstein announced that more restructuring would occur in an effort to respond to economic challenges brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, following several tumultuous years that involved external and internal scandals, rotating leadership, and poor investment decisions, Credit Suisse collapsed. Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), a rival Swiss banking institution, purchased Credit Suisse for $3.3 billion. UBS stated its plan was to dismantle Credit Suisse, selling off various parts of the bank. In July 2024, UBS announced the completion of the merger of its company and Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse was deregistered from the Commercial Register of the Canton of Zurich and ceased existence as a separate entity.
Impact
Because Credit Suisse was one the leading banking companies in the world, it was considered to be a systemically important financial institution (SIFI). This means that Credit Suisse was such a large and important banking group that its failure posed a serious risk to the global economy. This required Credit Suisse to meet extra-stringent regulatory requirements and periodically evaluate themselves with “stress tests” in the event of a major financial collapse. Although Credit Suisse did collapse in March 2023, its acquisition by UBS prevented global financial fallout.
Credit Suisse was once well-known to be at the forefront of innovation in the global banking industry. In 1951, it became the first large Swiss banker to establish a direct telex connection with New York, which provided banks with a quick means of transmission of electronic messages internationally. It opened the first drive-through bank in 1962; participated with other banks in the first automated banking “Bancomat” service in 1968; started the first telephone banking service in 1993; and launched the first internet-based banking platform, Direct-Net, for clients in 1997.
A signature business practice of Credit Suisse was its strict policy of client confidentiality. The company strived to protect itself, its stakeholders, and its often very wealthy clients. Although the company had been questioned by international investigators about these policies being used to evade taxes and commit other fraudulent activities, Credit Suisse stood by its policies of confidentiality as the cornerstone of its banking business and worked diligently to not disclose any unnecessary information while providing the utmost security.
Following World War II, Credit Suisse acquired banks in Europe that kept accounts for members of the Nazi political party as well as citizens that were persecuted by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Following the war, Holocaust survivors faced difficulties in retrieving assets from relatives who died in concentration camps because no death certificates were issued. This eventually led to a class action lawsuit in 1996 that finally settled in 2000 for $1.25 billion for family members of those Holocaust survivors.
In 1977, a major scandal threatened Credit Suisse when investigations showed that a Credit Suisse branch in Chiasso, Switzerland, was found to be channeling nearly $1 billion toward speculative investments and fraudulent banking schemes. In response, several top executives resigned, and the company created the Agreement on the Swiss Banks’ Code of Conduct with Regard to the Exercise of Due Diligence to provide a solution to prevent further scandal.
Other government scandals have also plagued the company. In 1999 in Japan, the country’s Financial Supervisory Agency suspended the license of the company’s financial products division for selling derivatives that clients were using to hide business losses. This is known as a “window dressing” and is considered fraud. In 2006, Credit Suisse was implicated in a scandal for helping Iran and other countries hide financial transactions from US authorities. The company paid a $536 million settlement to the US government. Investigations of banking fraud in Brazil in 2008 led to the arrest of four Credit Suisse bankers. Credit Suisse was at the center of multiple international investigations for tax avoidance by wealthy clients, which ultimately led to the payment of $2.6 billion in fines from 2008 to 2014.
Credit Suisse was also part of the controversy surrounding the support of Russian oligarchs during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Investigative reporters claimed that the company asked business partners and investors to destroy key documents that would show that they provided loans to wealthy Russian oligarchs after sanctions had been made. It was estimated that the loans were worth about $2 billion.
Credit Suisse publicly supported the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by directing funding toward the 17 goals set out by this global initiative. By driving investment and funding into companies that are addressing difficult social and environmental problems, Credit Suisse was hoping to be part of the solution, much the same way the founder used his ingenuity to drive Switzerland’s economy toward success.
Unable to recover from years of controversy, failing investment funds, and subpar leadership, Credit Suisse collapsed in March 2023 and was bought by UBS. This acquisition prevented a global economic fallout from the demise of Credit Suisse. UBS has stated it plans to dismantle Credit Suisse completely in the coming years.
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