Credit Suisse CEO defends new game plan

Credit Suisse has been justifying its parallel savings and investments strategy announced this week, with new CEO Tidjane Thiam and Chairman Urs Rohner giving newspapers the message that the bank needs to grow. “That is my goal,” Thiam told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). The CHF3.5 billion ($3.5 billion) austerity package and investments of CHF1.5 billion announced on Wednesday were “not a contradiction”, Rohner told the paper separately, noting “we have a growth plan and consider investments necessary”.    “Companies have to be competitive when it comes to costs and paying dividends, but they also have to be able to invest, grow and remunerate their staff,” Thiam said in Le Matin Dimanche. “There are commentators who are very sceptical [of the restructuring] but I don’t think that’s the opinion of investors.” Switzerland will be one of the areas feeling the pinch with 1,600 jobs going over the next three years. But at the same time, the company will be investing ...