Surprise Appointment
Koerner’s appointment took some observers by surprise, since he’s older than Gottstein and had seen his star fade at UBS. He also runs Credit Suisse’s smallest business by far -- asset management accounted for about 6% of the bank’s revenue over the past two years.
Koerner was among many candidates, both internal and external, that the bank considered for the top job, Lehmann told reporters on a call.
Koerner earned the reputation of someone who was technical, analytical and decisive, people who’ve worked closely with him said. Not particularly charismatic, he was able to take unpleasant and unpopular decisions quickly, including tough calls on job cuts, they said.
As UBS’s asset management head, Koerner disposed of assets and pushed into passive-strategy products, helping reverse outflows. The unit, however, repeatedly missed profitability targets.
Koerner was brought to UBS by its former CEO Oswald Gruebel to cut costs and be a “fixer” on all the post-financial crisis issues the bank was grappling with. He was intimately involved with cutting down UBS’s risk-weighted assets, which is exactly what Credit Suisse is now planning on doing.
“Koerner’s appointment makes sense, as he is very familiar with Swiss banking, and has turnaround experience at UBS,” said Adam Terelak, an equity research analyst at Mediobanca. “Still, cutting costs and stopping revenue decline in an investment bank is very different to turning around an asset manager.”
‘Different Path’
Well-connected in the Swiss financial world, Koerner is a dual German and Swiss citizen, and received a doctorate in business administration from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. After working as an auditor at Price Waterhouse and as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co., he joined Credit Suisse in 1998. He was a member of Credit Suisse’s executive board from 2003 to 2008, holding positions including chief financial officer and chief operating officer and headed the Swiss client business from 2006 to 2008.
He is among several UBS bankers to have been hired by Credit Suisse in recent years as the firm struggled to put its house in order, reinforcing the idea that it was trying to be more like its rival.
Lehmann, a former UBS chief operating officer and member of the executive board, has been recruiting from his previous employer, including Markus Diethelm as the bank’s general counsel. Koerner joined before Lehmann’s appointment. The planned departure of UBS wealth management co-head Tom Naratil has also stoked speculation about his next employer.
Asked if he was planning to reshape the bank along the lines of UBS, Lehmann said “no, not at all. We are on different path. We are a different company and we will come up with a different way forward.”
-With assistance from Manus Cranny and Myriam Balezou.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.