Stoehr most senior departure from Credit Suisse Greater China

CREDIT Suisse Group’s chief executive officer of Greater China, Carsten Stoehr, is leaving the embattled bank, marking the most senior departure for its China business.

Stoehr is also chairman of the board of Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) and Credit Suisse Securities (Hong Kong) and his departure will be effective Dec 15 according to an internal memo that was confirmed by a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman. Eugene Fung, co-head of the global financing & products group, will take over as chairman of the two entities.

Stoehr’s exit comes after the lender this year reached agreement with its partner to gain 100 per cent control of its securities venture in mainland China. But the bank, dogged by losses and a major global restructuring, has also made deep cuts to its workforce in China, letting go of at least one-third of its investment-banking workforce and about 40 per cent of research staff, people familiar have said earlier. 

The bank is still awaiting final approvals to expand its scope of operations in China, more than two years after it gained majority control of its venture.

Stoehr rejoined the firm in 2016 and was appointed CEO for Greater China in 2018, replacing Mervyn Chow who joined Hillhouse Capital Management. He led the bank’s expansion across investment banking, wealth and asset management in the region. BLOOMBERG