Credit Suisse Group AG reported 61.2 billion francs ($69 billion) of outflows in the first quarter, underscoring the challenge for UBS Group AG in retaining key clients and assets after the emergency takeover of its biggest rival. The Swiss lender reported 47.1 billion francs of net outflows at the key wealth management unit, and said that a 1.3 billion franc impairment charge was mostly related to that business. The bank said that outflows have moderated but not yet reversed. At the Swiss unit, the firm saw a further 6.9 billion of outflows, mostly at the private clients business.
Wealthy clients and retail depositors pulled billions from Credit Suisse over several frantic days in March after its anchor shareholder said that it would not invest more in the company, capping several years in which the bank lurched from one crisis to the next. The scale of the outflows and losses highlight the risks for UBS in an integration that the bank has said may take up to four years.
Credit Suisse had started its latest restructuring in October, including as many as 9,000 job cuts, as it sought to return to profitability. The continuation of asset exits, as well as banker departures, now raises questions about the state of the wealth business that UBS will inherit once the deal closes later this year. The firm said on Monday it expects a substantial loss in wealth management this year.
To help stem an exodus of talent, UBS wealth head Iqbal Khan has appeared in townhalls alongside his Credit Suisse counterpart to tell key staff that the new owner would offer incentives and retention packages. Khan formerly ran the international wealth business at Credit Suisse and his intervention signals UBS’s concern that rivals will use the drama to poach personnel and clients.
Credit Suisse had already lost about 110 billion francs of assets in the fourth quarter, after a social media firestorm questioning the bank’s financial stability set off a rush for the exits. Credit Suisse will probably lose about a fifth of the assets in its wealth management business following its merger with UBS, analysts at Citigroup Inc. estimate. That would equate to about another 110 billion francs.