As Credit Suisse evolves to meet the challenges of a changing world, from sustainability to digitalisation, the Swiss bank remains driven by the same entrepreneurial spirit that has guided it since the start
When Credit Suisse says it is in tune with the requirements of entrepreneurs, it is speaking from experience. The Swiss bank knows what entrepreneurs need because it has always been entrepreneurial itself—starting from its founding back in 1856.
“Entrepreneurship is really in the very DNA of Credit Suisse,” says its head of private banking North Asia, François Monnet. “It started as a platform to finance one of the most expensive, capital-intensive endeavours of the 19th century, the establishment of the rail network in Switzerland by Alfred Escher. He couldn’t get it funded, so he founded a consortium that became Credit Suisse.
“From that beginning, the essence of connectivity to entrepreneurs has dictated the strategy of the bank. If you want to do that in Asia, you need to be in a position to advise on both corporate assets and private assets, because wealth is entrepreneurial in this part of the world. By advising in the early stages and helping an entrepreneur to grow faster, we become meaningful very early on in the curve.” The ways in which the bank provides that advice have been changing rapidly for a while now, and Credit Suisse has been busy proactively embracing that digital future.
“It is absolutely clear that technology is going to dictate the way people consume services,” says Monnet. “So you have only one question to ask yourself: are you going to be disruptive or are you going to be disrupted? At Credit Suisse, we have taken the view for quite some years to embrace disruption. We launched our digital private banking in 2015, we have continuously enhanced the ability to get advice and trade on your phone, and we have added other means of connectivity like Credit Suisse Chat.”
