Credit Suisse Group AG’s investment bank chief Christian Meissner is set to leave the company in the coming weeks, amid a broad overhaul of the group that will likely see the unit cease to exist in its current form.
An announcement on his departure is expected to be made on Oct. 27 alongside the bank’s strategic review, people familiar with the matter said. The banker, who has been focusing on the overhaul of the investment bank is looking at options including starting his own advisory firm or joining another institution next year, the people said, declining to be identified as the details are private.
Meissner, an Austrian citizen, was initially hired by Credit Suisse in Oct. 2020 to co-run a newly created group connecting clients of the wealth management unit with investment-banking services. He became Credit Suisse’s investment bank chief in 2021 in the wake of the $5 billion hit from the collapse of Archegos Capital Management.
Credit Suisse is in the midst of a critical strategic review after multiple missteps drove the bank’s share price to record lows. The future of the investment bank is at the center of the the company’s turnaround plans, and is expected to be significantly pared back or even split up.
Credit Suisse declined to comment on behalf of Meissner.
Meissner’s departure would be the latest in a string of exits, which includes its global head of credit products, Danny McCarthy and Jens Welter, who was co-head of global banking. In July, the firm named David Miller and Michael Ebert as co-heads of the investment bank, overseeing Banking and Markets at that time.
The Zurich-based bank has already drawn interest from outfits including Apollo Global Management Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc for the securitized-products business in the investment bank, while the advisory and deal-making teams could become a separate unit that revives the First Boston name.
Meissner previously held senior roles at Bank of America Corp., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.