Credit Suisse considers return to US private banking

ZURICH: Credit Suisse Group AG is considering a return to US wealth management after a four-year absence as chief executive officer Tidjane Thiam seeks to boost growth in private banking.

Talks have focused on the ambition to add Us$15bil of assets under management at a new base in Miami, mostly catering to wealthy Latin Americans, people familiar with the matter said. If the bank moves ahead, it could employ up to 30 people including control and support staff in Florida, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private. No final decision has been taken and talks are at an early stage, they said.

The venture would be symbolically important for the Swiss bank, marking a return to private banking on US soil after an agreement to transfer its US brokerage to Wells Fargo & Co in 2015. The US is one of the biggest offshore wealth centres in the world, with Miami especially favoured by Latin America clients because of its close geographic and cultural links. Buoyed by a more favourable regulatory environment, the U.S. is likely to see strong growth from Latin American and Asian investors, according to the BCG Global Wealth Report.

A spokesman for Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Switzerland’s second-biggest lender reached an agreement in 2014 to plead guilty and pay about Us$2.6bil to the US Justice Department and regulators for helping US citizens hide money. The bank shifted strategy a year later under Thiam, who sought to bolster returns by focusing on the home market of Switzerland and expanding in Asian wealth management. The bank agreed the brokerage transfer a year later.