Zurich : Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, named Eric Varvel as chief executive officer of its investment bank, almost 10 months after he became acting CEO when Paul Calello began treatment for cancer.
Varvel, 47, will take over on July 1, while Calello, 49, will become chairman of the unit, the Zurich-based bank said today. Fawzi Kyriakos-Saad, 47, will replace Varvel as head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Separately, Antonio Quintella, 44, will become head of the Americas region as Rob Shafir, 52, relinquishes that position to focus on his role as CEO of asset management, the bank said.
Expansion
Credit Suisse reported record earnings at the investment bank last year, helped by trading revenue that benefited from low interest rates and recovering markets. The firm, which dodged the worst of the global financial crisis and declined state support, is expanding in emerging markets to help boost profitability. "Under Paul's leadership, the investment bank not only successfully navigated one of the most challenging periods in many decades," Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan said in the statement.
"It also delivered an outstanding performance in 2009 with significant market share gains, which have put the franchise in a very strong strategic position."
Credit Suisse was down 1.7 per cent at 43.55 francs at 9.55am in Swiss trading. The stock is down 16 per cent since the start of the year, twice the decline in the 52-company Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index.
Calello became CEO of the investment bank in 2007, when Dougan was promoted from that role to head the whole bank. Calello joined Credit Suisse with Dougan from Bankers Trust Corp. in 1990. Varvel, who also started at the bank in 1990, spent 15 years in the Asia-Pacific region before being chosen by Dougan, then head of the Credit Suisse First Boston securities unit, to oversee client coverage of all industry and regional teams in the Americas. He was later promoted to co-head of global investment banking.
