About Us Press Release

Press Release

Investor Day 2016

In October 2015, we presented our strategy and our plans to reinforce our position as a leading private bank and wealth manager, with strong investment banking capabilities. In our search for growth, we said that we would take a balanced approach between our presence in large, established and wealthy mature markets and faster growing emerging markets, where significant wealth is being created but with higher volatility. We believe that this strategy will generate significant value for our shareholders over time. Looking ahead, we are confirming today our medium-term 2018 PTI target for the affluent, mature Swiss market and are also confirming our Wealth Management targets both in the emerging markets of Asia Pacific (APAC) and other emerging economies, grouped in our International Wealth Management (IWM) division. In addition, given the challenging market conditions that we are facing, we are adjusting down our targets related to our markets and trading activities in APAC and to our Asset Management activities in IWM. In parallel, we are increasing our Group cost savings target, designed to make our bank more resilient through the cycle and providing significant potential upside for our shareholders when conditions improve.

Delivering on our strategic objectives

Since the last Investor Day on October 21, 2015, we have made significant progress against the strategic objectives we set out to achieve.

Costs. We have significantly reduced our fixed cost base, with CHF 1.6 billion1 of net savings expected to be achieved in the first year of our strategic plan. In 9M16, we exceeded the end-2016 net cost savings target of CHF 1.4 billion that we announced last year. Today, we are increasing our end-2018 cost reduction target to create further positive operating leverage.

Profitable growth. By focusing on our Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individual (UHNWI) and entrepreneur clients, we have been able to attract significant NNA and to materially grow our AuM in challenging markets. We will continue to invest in attractive growth opportunities and in strengthening our controls, leveraging our global platform as we have demonstrated in 2016. Over time, we expect these investments to generate significant, sustainable returns for our shareholders.

Right-sizing Global Markets (GM). We have substantially completed the right-sizing of our GM activities, lowering risk and reducing capital consumption while investing selectively and preserving our key client franchises across Equities and Fixed Income.

Capital. We are maintaining a disciplined approach to capital management, allocating capital to higher-returning, less volatile activities while strengthening our capital ratios through the disciplined management of RWA and leverage exposure. In the Strategic Resolution Unit (SRU), we have significantly reduced capital and balance sheet usage with a 35% reduction in RWA (excluding operational risk) in one year and have achieved this with lower-than-expected exit costs to our shareholders. We had a look-through CET1 capital ratio of 12% – our strongest reported level – at end-3Q16. This represents an improvement of 180 bp compared to end-3Q15.

End-2018 targets

We are increasing our Group cost savings target, confirming our PTI target for the Swiss Universal Bank (SUB)and confirming our Wealth Management PTI targets for APAC and IWM. Given the challenging market conditionsthat we are facing, we are adjusting down our PTI targets related to our trading and markets activities in APAC and to our Asset Management activities in IWM. In parallel, we are raising our Group cost savings target to increase resilience and create potential upside for shareholders when conditions improve.

Increasing end-2018 operational leverage target

During 2016, we have made significant progress in reducing our operating cost base while investing in growth businesses and improving our control framework. We expect to exceed our cost reduction targets with a projected CHF 1.6 billion of net cost savings by end-2016.1 This is an outperformance with respect to the amount of cost savings achieved by many of our peers in similar cost reduction programs during the first year after announcement.2

We are today lowering our target operating cost base for 2018 from below CHF 18 billion to below CHF 17 billion. We are increasing our total net cost savings target from CHF 3.2 billion to greater than CHF 4.2 billion by end-2018 as we maintain momentum with further cost saving measures.

Importantly, in parallel with these cost saving initiatives, we are continuing to make investments in people and in technology to strengthen our client franchises in all divisions.

End-2018 divisional PTI targets

Since last year’s Investor Day, two key developments have impacted the way we think about our 2018 targets: (i)since we started operating under our new divisional structure, we have been able to develop many new growth and efficiency initiatives at a granular level; and (ii) we have seen major changes in the market environment and political outlook, which have negatively impacted the market-dependent portion of our targets.

This has led us to reassess certain targets we set for 2018. Today, we are reaffirming our targets across our Wealth Management businesses for 2018, together with our return targets for GM, while adjusting downward our targets for those activities most impacted by reduced trading flows and lower levels of market activity. For the SRU, we are updating our 2018 guidance and providing guidance for 2019.

  • SUB: After a strong performance in 9M16, PTI target of CHF 2.3 billion confirmed for 2018.
  • IWM: PTI target adjusted to CHF 1.8 billion to reflect lower performance fees in Asset Management.
  • APAC: PTI target adjusted to CHF 1.6 billion, with Wealth Management target unchanged at CHF 0.7 billion and APAC Investment Banking PTI target adjusted downwards to reflect the impact of lower market volumes and capital markets activity.
  • GM: 10-15% return on regulatory capital3 confirmed for 2018.
  • IBCM: 15-20% return on regulatory capital3 for 2018.
  • SRU: Pre-tax loss of USD 1.4 billion by 2018 and USD 0.8 billion by 2019.

Given the unsupportive market conditions we are facing, the realization of our profit objectives plan is now more geared to the delivery of cost reductions, over which we have greater control than revenue growth. This also leaves us with potential upside, should market conditions improve.

Strengthening our capital position

Building a strong capital position is a core objective of our strategy. We have made notable progress towards this goal in 2016 and will continue to prioritize balance sheet strength going forward. Our look-through CET1 capital ratio improved by 180 bp to 12% as of end-3Q16 compared to end-3Q15, the strongest level ever achieved by the Group. We are confirming our target CET1 capital ratio of over 13% pre-Basel 3 uplift beyond 2018, which corresponds to approximately 11%4 post regulatory recalibration beyond 2018. Our look-through CET1 leverage ratio improved by 60 bp to 3.4% as of end-3Q16 compared to end-3Q15. We are targeting a look-through CET1 leverage ratio of over 3.5% in 2018.

Divisional summary

The Swiss Universal Bank (SUB) division is performing well. It achieved three consecutive quarters of adjusted* PTI growth year on year – up 25% on a reported basis and 8%5 on an adjusted* basis in 9M16 compared to 9M15 – driven by resilient revenues across the franchise and effective cost initiatives. We delivered a return on regulatory capital3 of 18% on a reported basis and 15% on an adjusted* basis for 9M16. We are continuing to systematically implement our efficiency measures that are targeted at realizing additional net cost savings over CHF 200 million over the next two years to end-2018. We will continue to invest in enhancing our digital capabilities and processes within our multi-channel strategy. We have also identified further concrete growth initiatives targeted at delivering revenue growth of 1-3% per annum, subject to market conditions. Against this backdrop, we are confirming our PTI target for the division of CHF 2.3 billion for end-2018. We remain on track with the preparations for the planned partial IPO of Credit Suisse (Schweiz) AG in the second half of 2017, market conditions permitting6.
Further guidance on this legal entity will be provided in 2Q17.

International Wealth Management (IWM) is making significant progress in delivering robust revenue trajectory and strong NNA generation in challenging markets. Private Banking achieved strong NNA of CHF 15.2 billion in 9M16 and an annualized growth rate of 7%7 in spite of the continued negative impact of regularization. This compares to an annualized growth rate of 0.5% in the same period of 2015. We continued to service our clients’ financing needs, resulting in net new lending of CHF 3.1 billion in 9M16. Our success in serving our strategic client base was reflected by a significant increase in net revenues for this client group at higher gross margins in 2016. In Asset Management, PTI rose 20% on a reported basis and 22% on an adjusted* basis in 9M16 on the back of higher global management fees, solid asset inflows and efficiency gains. Cost efficiencies across IWM were used to fund investments in growth, with the recruitment of 170 RMs8 in 9M16, as well as investments in the regional alignment of the Risk and Compliance function. Our target PTI for end-2018 has been adjusted to CHF 1.8 billion from CHF 2.1 billion, reflecting lower performance fees in Asset Management. Progress is expected to be achieved through continued growth in our leading Emerging Markets franchises9, while capitalizing on the operating leverage of our business in Europe which is expected to grow PTI by around CHF 150 million in 2018.
Additionally, we expect Asset Management to grow PTI by over CHF 200 million in 2018. IWM is expected to deliver growth while actively managing risk and balancing growth investments with efficiency gains.
Our integrated model in Asia Pacific (APAC) showed growth momentum with our UHNWI and entrepreneur clients, leading to good revenue growth and attractive returns in 2016 despite challenging market conditions. Credit Suisse is a top-3 private bank in APAC10 and our Wealth Management business increased its net revenues by 10% in 9M16 compared to 9M15 and reported record AuM of CHF 169 billion at end-3Q16. We remain committed to serving this core client base with differentiated, advisory-led solutions, supported by access to our leading Equities franchise. Underwriting and Advisory net revenues increased 35% in 9M16 compared to 9M15 and Credit Suisse currently has a no. 1 share of wallet in APAC ex-Japan among international banks11. Recognizing the slower market environment, we have adjusted our PTI targets, with a slower pace of growth. We are confirming our PTI target for wealth management connected activities of CHF 0.7 billion by end-2018, and we are adjusting our PTI target for the division to CHF 1.6 billion. Going forward, we aim to create additional operating leverage through a program of efficiency measures across the business. APAC remains a priority and core focus for the Group, driven by the continued wealth creation and business growth in our UHNWI and entrepreneur client base.

Investment Banking & Capital Markets (IBCM) has delivered improved operating results while continuing to invest in growth opportunities. We have rebalanced our product mix towards M&A and ECM, resulting in share of wallet gains12 and top-5 market positions12 across our core products for 9M16. We are continually optimizing our client mix to increase our focus on investment grade corporate clients and have also leveraged our global platform to meet the growing client demand for cross-border expertise in both developed and Emerging Markets. Our aim is to generate a return on regulatory capital3 in the range of 15-20% by end-2018.

In Global Markets (GM), we have a number of leading client franchises and we have worked hard to defend them through a year of significant restructuring. We were able to retain top positions in our core businesses, with particular strength in the Americas. With the execution of our accelerated restructuring substantially completed, GM is operating below its end-2016 RWA ceiling of USD 60 billion and approaching its end-2018 target cost base of USD 5.4 billion. Our focus is now shifting to driving revenues and to better capitalize on collaboration opportunities with IWM, IBCM and APAC. At the same time, we are striving to improve operating leverage while operating below our capital ceilings (assuming RWA of USD 60 billion and leverage exposure of USD 290 billion) to achieve a return on regulatory capital3 of 10-15% by end-2018.

In our Strategic Resolution Unit (SRU), we have deleveraged rapidly and reduced leverage exposure by USD 51 billion and RWA by USD 19 billion (excluding operational risk) compared to end-4Q15, and we exited businesses through a wide range of transactions at favorable costs of around 1% of RWA, which is lower than our long-term guidance of 2-5%. This has freed up capital to reinvest in growth businesses in order to support our client activities. By end-2019, our target is to realize a pre-tax loss of approximately USD 0.8 billion and to reduce capital consumption by approximately 80%.


Conclusion

One year into the implementation of our plan, we believe that our strategy is working. We aim to continue to attract assets and improve the quality of our Wealth Management offering as well as using our strong investment banking capabilities to serve our clients. Since 1856, Credit Suisse has been at the forefront of partnering with entrepreneurs both in developed and emerging markets. This is a deep tradition that we intend to continue. We see material upside in being able to provide our target entrepreneur clients with an integrated wealth management and investment banking approach.

We have made strong progress in reducing costs, with the expected delivery of CHF 1.6 billion1 of net savings in 2016, thus increasing our operating leverage. A core objective of our strategy is to make the bank both more profitable and more resilient. In parallel, we have continued to invest in expanding our business and have generated profitable growth in our core client franchises, where AuM increased by CHF 62 billion in Wealth Management as of end-3Q16 compared to end-3Q15.

We are determined to stay focused on our key priorities of disciplined execution, profitable growth and the strengthening of our capital position. By 2018, we expect Credit Suisse to benefit from the measures we have put in place to create increased operational leverage, with a powerful core business generating a high-quality and more predictable earnings stream as the SRU shrinks.

In the course of 2016, we have taken a number of difficult but important steps that lay the foundations for a stronger, more resilient Credit Suisse in the future. As a result, we believe that we are well positioned to grow profitably and produce long-term value for our shareholders.




The Investor Day media release and presentation slides are available for download from 06:30 CET today at: www.credit-suisse.com/investorday.

Note: All references to 2018 PTI, operational leverage and return on regulatory capital targets are on an adjusted* basis. These adjusted targets are non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of the targets to the nearest GAAP measures is unavailable without unreasonable efforts. The reconciling items include any future goodwill impairment, litigation charges and other revenue and expense items included in our reported results but excluded from our adjusted results, which is unavailable on a prospective basis.

Agenda

Time Topic Speaker

08:00

Registration All

08:30

Welcome & Progress Update

Tidjane Thiam, Group CEO

09:15

Global Markets

Brian Chin, CEO GM

09:45

Coffee break  

10:15

Swiss Universal Bank

Thomas Gottstein, CEO SUB

10:45

Asia Pacific

Helman Sitohang, CEO APAC

11:15

International Wealth Management

Iqbal Khan, CEO IWM

11:45

Investment Banking & Capital Markets

Jim Amine, CEO IBCM

12:15

Lunch  

13:15

Financials and capital / Strategic Resolution Unit

David Mathers, Group CFO

14:00

Wrap-up of the Day Tidjane Thiam, Group CEO

14:05

Q&A Session All

Media Call

Date

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Time

07:30 GMT / 08:30 CET

Speakers

Tidjane Thiam, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse Group

This presentation will be given in English.

Telephone

United Kingdom +44 1452 583 087

Switzerland +41 44 583 16 09

United States +1 866 629 00 58

Conference passcode: 33284540

Q&A session

Following the presentation, you will have the opportunity to ask the speakers questions.

Note

We recommend that you dial in approximately

10 minutes before the start of the presentation. After entering the passcode, you will be

automatically connected to the conference. Due to regional restrictions, some participants

may receive Operator assistance when joining this conference call and will not be automatically

connected.

Documents

All documentation will be available on www.credit-suisse.com/investorday

Playbacks

United Kingdom +44 1452 550 000

Switzerland +41 44 580 34 56

USA +1 866 247 42 22

Encore dial in passcode 33284540

A replay of the media call will be available during the day.

Webcast details

Date

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Time

08:30 GMT / 09:30 CET

Webcast

Live broadcast online at: www.credit-suisse.com/investorday

The presentation will be given in English.

Telephone

Switzerland: +41 44 580 71 50

Europe: +44 145 232 2090

US: +1 917 512 0900

Conference passcode: 2118727

Note

Due to the large volume of callers expected, we recommend that you dial in approximately

10 minutes before the start of the presentation.

After entering the passcode, you will be automatically connected to the conference.

Due to regional restrictions, some participants may receive operator assistance

when joining the conference call and will not be automatically connected.

Documents

All documentation will be available on www.credit-suisse.com/investorday

Playbacks

 

A replay of the webcast will be available the day after the event.