A spokeswoman from the bank’s Swiss HQ confirmed that, as part of an on- going review into its wealth management business, it is exiting from a number of markets where it either has too small a presence in or where the costs of doing business and regulatory requirements make it less profitable.
The move focuses on pulling out of countries such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Angola and the Congo where the returns do not justify the regulatory requirements.
The spokeswoman said: “This move is part of an initiative that has been going on for a while and is part of our strategy to focus on growth markets. We have reviewed a number of small, non-core markets and looked at potential prospects for future regulatory requirements. In some markets our presence is so small it’s just not worth while.”
The review is part of efforts to save SFr150m (£103m/€122m/$165m) in the bank’s wealth management unit.
It has been reported that Credit Suisse will also stop serving less wealthy customers in some western markets where the bank does not have a large enough volume to serve small clients profitably.
The spokeswoman confirmed that a key focus moving forward would be on ultra-high net worth individuals in markets such as its home territory of Switzerland.
