Credit Suisse is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. It has played a substantial role in the economic development of Switzerland, helping the country develop its currency system, funding entrepreneurs, and investing in the Gotthard railway, which connected Switzerland to the European rail system in 1882. Credit Suisse has also helped fund the creation of Switzerland’s electrical grid and supported the effort to disarm and imprison French troops that crossed Swiss borders in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. In this blog post, we’ll explore some questions about Credit Suisse, its history, and its role in the world of finance.
Questions about Credit Suisse
Q: What is Credit Suisse? A: Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland.
Q: Where is Credit Suisse headquartered? A: Credit Suisse is headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland.
Q: What are the services provided by Credit Suisse? A: Credit Suisse provides services in investment banking, private banking, asset management, and shared services.
Q: What is Credit Suisse known for? A: Credit Suisse is known for strict bank–client confidentiality and banking secrecy.
Q: What is the Financial Stability Board’s opinion of Credit Suisse? A: The Financial Stability Board considers Credit Suisse to be a global systemically important bank.
Q: What is Credit Suisse’s relationship with the Fed? A: Credit Suisse is a primary dealer and Forex counterparty of the Fed.
Q: When was Credit Suisse founded? A: Credit Suisse was founded in 1856.
Q: What was Credit Suisse’s original purpose? A: Credit Suisse was founded to fund the development of Switzerland’s rail system.
Q: What did Credit Suisse do in the 1900s? A: In the 1900s, Credit Suisse began shifting to retail banking in response to the elevation of the middle class and competition from fellow Swiss banks UBS and Julius Bär.
Q: What institutions did Credit Suisse purchase from 1990 to 2000? A: From 1990 to 2000, Credit Suisse purchased institutions such as Winterthur Group, Swiss Volksbank, Swiss American Securities Inc. (SASI), and Bank Leu.
Q: Who are the biggest institutional shareholders of Credit Suisse? A: The biggest institutional shareholders of Credit Suisse include the Saudi National Bank (9.88%), the Qatar Investment Authority and BlackRock (about 5% each), Dodge & Cox, Norges Bank, and the Saudi Olayan Group.
Q: What happened to Credit Suisse during the global financial crisis? A: The company was one of the least affected banks during the global financial crisis, but afterward began shrinking its investment business, executing layoffs and cutting costs.
Q: What international investigations was Credit Suisse at the center of? A: Credit Suisse was at the center of multiple international investigations for tax avoidance which culminated in a guilty plea and the forfeiture of US$2.6 billion in fines from 2008 to 2012.
Q: What were Credit Suisse’s assets under management (AuM) in 2021? A: In 2021, Credit Suisse had assets under management (AuM) of over CHF 1.6 trillion.
Q: What is the corporate structure of Credit Suisse? A: Credit Suisse Group AG is organized as a joint-stock company registered in Zürich that operates as a holding company. It owns the Credit Suisse bank and other interests in the financial services business.
Q: What is Credit Suisse’s organizational structure designed to ensure? A: Credit Suisse’s organizational structure is designed to ensure that ESG standards are embedded across regions and divisions in its client-based solutions as well as in its own operations as a company.
Q: What are Credit Suisse’s business divisions? A: Credit Suisse has a leading Wealth Management business, a leading position in its Swiss home market, and a global Investment Bank.
Q: What is the shareholder structure of Credit Suisse? A: As of December 31, 2021, 103,360 shareholders were registered in Credit Suisse’s share register.
Q: Who is the first shareholder of Credit Suisse? A: In August 2022, it was revealed that the first shareholder of Credit Suisse is in fact American, namely Harris Associates, holding over 10% of the shares of the group. Harris Associates itself is owned by the French bank Natixis.
Q: What is Credit Suisse Group AG? A: Credit Suisse Group AG is organized as a joint-stock company registered in Zürich that operates as a holding company. It owns the Credit Suisse bank and other interests in the financial services business.
Q: When was Credit Suisse founded? A: Credit Suisse was founded in 1856 to fund the development of Switzerland’s rail system.
Q: What did Credit Suisse issue loans for? A: Credit Suisse issued loans that helped create Switzerland’s electrical grid and the European rail system.
Q: Why did Credit Suisse begin shifting to retail banking in the 1900s? A: Credit Suisse began shifting to retail banking in response to the elevation of the middle class and competition from fellow Swiss banks UBS and Julius Bär.
Q: Who is Alfred Escher? A: Credit Suisse’s founder, Alfred Escher, was called “the spiritual father of the railway law of 1852”, for his work defeating the idea of a state-run railway system in Switzerland in favor of privatization.
Q: What is Credit Suisse Group AG? A: Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global “Bulge Bracket” banks providing services in investment banking, private banking, asset management, and shared services.
Q: Who is Alfred Escher? A: Credit Suisse’s founder, Alfred Escher, was called “the spiritual father of the railway law of 1852”, for his work defeating the idea of a state-run railway system in Switzerland in favor of privatization.
Q: When was Credit Suisse founded? A: Credit Suisse (originally called the Swiss Credit Institution, i.e., Schweizerische Kreditanstalt) was founded jointly with Allgemeine Deutsche Credit-Anstalt in 1856 primarily to provide domestic funding to railway projects, avoiding French banks that wanted to exert influence over the railway system.
Q: What was the original name of Credit Suisse? A: Credit Suisse was originally called the Swiss Credit Institution, i.e., Schweizerische Kreditanstalt.
Q: What was the aim of Credit Suisse’s founder, Alfred Escher, in starting the company? A: Alfred Escher aimed to start the company primarily to provide domestic funding to railway projects, avoiding French banks that wanted to exert influence over the railway system.
Q: What was Credit Suisse’s lending policy focused on in its early years? A: Credit Suisse had a more conservative lending policy focused on short-to-medium-term loans.
Q: What role did Credit Suisse play in the economic development of Switzerland? A: Credit Suisse played a substantial role in the economic development of Switzerland, helping the country develop its currency system, funding entrepreneurs, and investing in the Gotthard railway, which connected Switzerland to the European rail system in 1882.
Q: What is Elektrobank? A: Elektrobank (now called Elektrowatt) is a coalition of organizations that co-financed Switzerland’s electrical grid. Credit Suisse helped fund the creation of Switzerland’s electrical grid through its participation with Elektrobank.
Q: What is the significance of Credit Suisse’s participation with Elektrobank? A: Credit Suisse’s participation with Elektrobank helped fund the creation of Switzerland’s electrical grid.
Q: What is the significance of Credit Suisse’s investment in the Gotthard railway? A: Credit Suisse’s investment in the Gotthard railway connected Switzerland to the European rail system in 1882.
Q: What is the significance of Credit Suisse’s funding of the effort to disarm and imprison French troops that crossed Swiss borders in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War? A: Credit Suisse’s funding of the effort to disarm and imprison French troops that crossed Swiss borders in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War helped Switzerland defend its borders. By the end of the war, Credit Suisse had become the largest bank in Switzerland.
Q: What is SKA International? A: SKA International was a company set up by Credit Suisse in the late 1800s with the bank as a shareholder of each company. It created insurance companies like Swiss RE, Swiss Life (aka Rentenanstalt), and Schweiz.
Q: What was Credit Suisse’s first unprofitable year? A: Credit Suisse’s first unprofitable year was 1886, due to losses in agriculture, venture investments, commodities, and international trade.
Q: What did Credit Suisse do in the early 1900s to cater to consumers and the middle class? A: In the early 1900s Credit Suisse began catering to consumers and the middle-class with deposit counters, currency exchanges, and savings accounts.
Q: What was the first branch outside of Zürich that Credit Suisse opened? A: The first branch outside of Zürich that Credit Suisse opened was in Basel in 1905.
Q: What was the Agreement on the Swiss Banks’ Code of Conduct with Regard to the Exercise of Due Diligence? A: The Agreement on the Swiss Banks’ Code of Conduct with Regard to the Exercise of Due Diligence was created in the 1970s after a Credit Suisse branch in Chiasso was exposed for illegally funneling $900 million in Italian deposits to speculative investments.
Also read: Questions about Commercial Law
