Credit Suisse CEO Thiam said to ask for bonus cut

Credit Suisse’s chief executive officer Tidjane Thiam has reportedly asked the bank’s board to slash his bonus for 2015.

According to the Financial Times, Thiam, who took over as chief executive in July, has asked for his bonus to be cut by 25% to 50%.

“[Mr Thiam] asked the board to cut the bonus awarded to him for 2016 as an act of solidarity given the difficult year the bank has had and the fact that bonuses have been cut elsewhere across the group,” a spokesman for Credit Suisse told the FT.

Meanwhile, Dow Jones reported that Tidjame has asked the board for “a significant reduction” in his bonus, although he did not elaborate further.

Last Thursday, Credit Suisse shares tumbled after the bank posted its first annual loss since 2008.

The bank reported a pre-tax loss of CHF2.42bn (£1.7bn) for 2015, while the fourth quarter pre-tax loss came in at CHF6.44bn.

Credit Suisse said this included substantial charges, adding that this was not reflective of its underlying business performance. The bank noted a goodwill impairment of CHF3.8bn – mostly related to its acquisition of US mid-tier investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette in 2000 – restructuring costs of CHF355m and significant litigation items of CHF564.

Revenue in the fourth quarter dropped to CHF4.21bn from CHF6.37 in the same period a year earlier. CS said the fourth quarter was characterised by volatile market conditions, pressures on market liquidity, a sharp drop in oil prices, widening credit spreads and continued uncertainty linked to unsynchronised monetary policies.

The bank also said it plans to cut around 4,000 positions as it looks to cut costs.

“Given the particularly challenging environment we face, we decided in the fourth quarter to accelerate the implementation of our cost savings program across the bank,” Thiam said.