Credit Suisse Could Look to Warren Buffett for Ideas
After a lost decade, the Swiss bank’s road to revival is littered with potholes
Axel Lehmann, Credit Suisse chairman, has a tough puzzle to solve
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
There are two ways to fix Credit Suisse Group AG: quickly and expensively, or slowly and expensively. Its leaders know the Swiss bank’s problems and they have a good idea of what they want the bank to become. The puzzle that Chairman Axel Lehmann and the rest of the board are struggling to solve is how to get from here to there – and how to pay for the journey.
Rumors are flying: It could quit the US entirely (that one at least was swiftly denied); it will split into two, or maybe three, pieces; outside investors will fund part of its investment bank; or maybe it will spin that business off to fend for itself. All this is unsettling for the bank’s most valuable clients and most successful remaining bankers. Investors, lenders, staff and customers need to see a detailed and plausible roadmap quickly, otherwise Credit Suisse’s fate will be years of struggle to cut costs as quickly as it loses revenue.