Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam Was Paid $10.2 Million in 2017
March 23 2018 - 4:06AM
Dow Jones News
By Brian Blackstone
ZURICH-- Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam
was awarded 9.7 million Swiss francs ($10.2 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.
Total compensation for the bank's 12-member executive board was
69.9 million francs last year, down a little more than three
million francs from 2016. The total bonus pool was 3.19 billion
francs, up 3% from 2016.
Mr. Thiam's pay was down about 5% from 10.2 million francs the
previous year, reflecting his decision a year ago to give up a
portion of his long-term incentive bonus. At the time, the board of
directors had proposed a pay package of 11.9 million francs 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.
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.
The bank lost 2.7 billion francs in 2016 after reaching a
settlement worth about $5.3 billion with the U.S. Justice
Department related to mortgage securities sold before the financial
crisis--long before Mr. Thiam joined the firm.
Last year, it was an accounting adjustment that drove Credit
Suisse to a loss of 983 million francs. It had to write down more
than $2 billion in deferred tax assets because of U.S. tax reform
legislation that was signed into law in late 2017. Many other
banks, including Credit Suisse's crosstown rival UBS Group AG, had
to do the same.
After a rocky 2015 and 2016, last year was one of relative
tranquility for Credit Suisse. The bank's strategic shift toward
wealth management--while maintaining a streamlined investment
banking unit--proceeded without big disruptions and it didn't have
costly litigation issues. Its share price, which briefly fell below
10 francs a share in mid-2016, rose by 20% in 2017.
Write to Brian Blackstone at brian.blackstone@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2018 03:51 ET (07:51 GMT)
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