Credit Suisse Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam likes to joke he has a predilection for being under pressure. A year into the job he may have got more than he bargained for. Shares in Switzerland's second-biggest bank touched record lows in June, and have plunged more than 50 percent since the former head of British insurer Prudential took up his new post on July 1 last year.
Turbulent financial markets, exacerbated by Britain's vote last week to leave the European Union, have complicated what was always likely to be a difficult restructure of a global investment bank.
But muddled communication of a new strategy, 2018 pre-tax income targets that many felt were optimistic to begin with and concern the bank needs more cash have undermined his credibility, experts said.
"At the beginning everyone thought he could walk on water. Nowadays everyone thinks he struggles to swim," said Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Andreas Brun, who has a "market weight" rating on the stock. An outsider to both the bank and banking, hopes were high Thiam could make the tough decisions that had eluded predecessor Brady Dougan. This included cutting back in investment banking, doubling down on wealth management and catching up to peers on capital, all of which Thiam has pursued.
But uncertainty over how the bank will grow revenue enough to meet 2018 pre-tax income targets and concerns Thiam may need to ask the market for more cash have accelerated Credit Suisse's share price fall, one of the biggest of all large investment banks this year.
Inside the bank the share price drop and the prospect of 6,000 layoffs have hit morale, particularly at the investment bank which is facing the biggest cuts, current and former executives told Reuters.
"In a difficult European banking industry context, the lack of clear communication, objectives, business plans and intentions have certainly not helped," said Hans-Joerg Rudloff, who ran Credit Suisse First Boston from 1989 to 1994 and was a member of Credit Suisse's executive board.
"They've created confusion among investors and, most likely, employees."
Credit Suisse's problems have put pressure on Chairman Urs Rohner who hired Thiam. He feels if his CEO pick does not work out they would both likely exit the bank, a person familiar with the matter said.
A spokesman said Credit Suisse is aware its share price is dependent on the successful execution of the new strategy over the long term and is working to achieve this.
Thiam, 53, a former Ivory Coast government minister whose size supports his passion for basketball, won praise for the successful Asian expansion strategy he oversaw at Prudential.
He has had to adapt to a higher profile in Switzerland where people even approach him in the street for autographs.
A natural charmer gifted with a razor-sharp memory, Thiam is less of a micro-manager than Dougan, said one senior executive who worked under both men. He impresses clients with a rolodex full of political and corporate contacts, according to one person familiar with the matter.
Thiam has been more present at Credit Suisse's Zurich headquarters than Dougan, who spent much of his time in New York and London. He has also been able to visit New York 11 times and Asia on six occasions in his first year as CEO.
Yet some said they felt cut off from their CEO who can appear insulated by loyalists from internal criticism. There is also a concern he does not take well to people disagreeing with him, though this is rejected by one senior executive.
When Thiam outlined his strategy for Credit Suisse in October, he did much of what investors had hoped for.
He ditched parts of the capital-guzzling investment bank to focus on managing the fortunes of the world's wealthy, especially in emerging markets, and pledged to cut billions of dollars in costs.
He has pushed to cut risk exposure at Credit Suisse's trading division, which the bank said has helped it cope better with recent market turmoil.
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