CS Credit Suisse Group

    By Brian Blackstone 
 

ZURICH--Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) chief executive Tidjane Thiam was awarded 9.7 million Swiss francs ($10.3 million) in compensation for 2017, as his strategic shift toward managing money for wealthy clients showed signs of paying off despite the bank posting a third-straight annual loss.

The total group bonus pool was CHF3.19 billion, up 3% from 2016.

Mr. Thiam's pay was down about 5% from CHF10.2 million the previous year, reflecting his decision one year ago to give up a portion of his long-term incentive bonus.

The bank's compensation committee "determined that Mr. Thiam had achieved the maximum performance level with respect to the qualitative measures," according to the compensation report released along with the annual report.

One year ago, the board of directors had proposed a total compensation package of CHF11.9 million for Mr. Thiam. But facing a backlash from shareholders, Mr. Thiam and other executive board members said they would accept a 40% reduction in their short-term incentives awards for 2016 and long-term incentives for 2017.

Total compensation for the bank's 12-member executive board was CHF69.9 million last year, down a little more than three million Swiss francs from 2016.

Credit Suisse hasn't turned an annual profit since Mr. Thiam took over as chief executive in the middle of 2015. The loss in 2015 was prompted by impairment charges as it scaled back its investment banking business, part of a broader strategic overhaul.

Write to Brian Blackstone at brian.blackstone@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2018 03:08 ET (07:08 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.