TROUBLED Credit Suisse has appointed Bank of Ireland chief executive Francesca McDonagh (pictured) is to run its European operations.
She becomes Credit Suisse’s EMEA chief executive in October as the lender struggles with major reputational issues, including the most recent ‘Credit Suisse Secrets’ leaks.
Ms McDonagh takes over from Francesco De Ferrari, chief executive of Credit Suisse’s wealth management division, who has held this position on an ad interim basis since January.
She will have the task of cleaning up the bank’s reputation – something she managed at BoI which had a tarnished image coming out of Ireland’s banking crash but to a far lesser degree than Suisse’s current problems.
The move was one of three major changes in Credit Suisse management announced by the group on Wednesday following a worse than expected start to the year.
Chief financial officer David Mathers is to leave the bank after more than 10 years in the role.
Asia-Pacific head Helman Sitohang will step down on June 1 and be replaced by Credit Suisse veteran Edwin Low.
Credit Suisse on Wednesday announced a larger than expected loss of 273 million Swiss francs (€266m) in the first quarter, driven by legal expenses and a charge related to its Russian exposure.
Shares in the lender fell as much as 1.7pc after opening in Zurich on Wednesday, with the stock losing half its value in the last year.
The ‘Credit Suisse Secrets’ investigation led by Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper revealed how the Swiss banking giant was involved with organised criminals and autocrats for decades and chose to turn a blind eye to the transactions.
Meanwhile, Ms McDonagh’s five-year tenure at Bank of Ireland has seen her do deals to buy Davy Stockbrokers and most of KBC Ireland, as well as reducing taxpayers’ stake in the lender to below 5pc.
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