The country boss of Credit Suisse in Russia has left the company with immediate effect. His successor has now been named.
Steven Hellman, the boss of Credit Suisse (CS) in Russia, quit his job last week, «NZZ am Sonntag» (not available online) reported yesterday. On Friday, he emailed friends and colleagues that this was his last day at CS. A CS spokesman confirmed his departure and said that Hellman would pursue interest outside the bank.
The new man in charge is called Dimitri Kushaev according to research by finews.ch. Kushaev has been in charge of private banking in Russia and is now taking over responsibility as country chief.
Dashed Hopes?
The quiet departure of Hellman, a charismatic and eloquent banker, is all the more remarkable as CS has had high hopes for wealth management and investment banking in the Russian market.
The bank has been active in the region for more than two decades and targeted the very rich in Russia. A year ago, CS said it would concentrate on implementing a one-bank strategy.
Political and Economic Uncertainties
The bank is offering the services of private banking and investment banking alike to its customers in keeping with this strategy. Hellman was in charge of making sure that the strategy was maintained. But with the economic uncertainties increasing in Putin's Russia, business and the CS strategy was becoming more complex. The sharp decent of the oil price, political uncertainty and capital flight made business difficult.
Five years ago, Credit Suisse still harbored high hopes for Russia. At the time, Hellman said that Moscow would equal London as a financial market by 2020 and CS would advise the Russian government on how to best construct the financial center.
