Credit Suisse Revamp To Boost Asia, While Cutting Jobs In Zurich: Paper

GENEVA (Reuters) -- Credit Suisse Group AG CEO Tidjane Thiam will announce plans this month to decentralize the bank's global operations in a strategy shift that will boost its presence in Asia and cut jobs in Zurich, the Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper reported Sunday. Thiam began a strategy review after taking over July 1 and signaled he wanted to focus on banking for the world's wealthy, particularly in Asia, and move away from riskier securities.

Citing information from inside the bank, Schweiz am Sonntag said Thiam wanted the bank to decentralize, drawing on his previous experience as head of British insurer Prudential PLC and fulfilling a longtime aim of Credit Suisse Chairman Urs Rohner.

An unnamed senior manager told the paper that the new strategy, to be unveiled Oct. 21, would lead to job cuts in Switzerland, where the bank has centralized services such as its computer-science and global-product units, and new jobs at the Singapore and Hong Kong offices.

The paper said Hans-Ulrich Meister, Switzerland CEO and co-head of private banking, would benefit from a bigger remit as the corporate banking business would be integrated into private banking.

The Asian regional operation would be led by current Asia-Pacific CEO Helman Sitohang, a high-ranking executive told the paper, while equities chief Timothy O'Hara is the front-runner to lead the U.S. operation, replacing Robert Shafir.

Chief marketing and talent officer Pamela Thomas-Graham would be replaced by Peter Gorke, formerly head of human resources under Thiam at Prudential, the paper said.

A bank representative declined to comment on the newspaper report.

(Reporting by Tom Miles, additional reporting by Angelika Gruber; Editing by Susan Fenton)