Credit Suisse has announced the formation of a new group in its EMEA global markets solutions business (GMSB) designed to address what co-head of global investment banking Jim Amine describes as a “unique opportunity” presented by the current debt market dislocation.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has given Credit Suisse the go-ahead to launch a joint venture with local firm Founder Securities. The Swiss bank takes a 33% share in the new entity, which will be able to sponsor and underwrite A shares, foreign investment shares and government and corporate bonds. The firm will not be able to offer secondary market services such as research and broking, however: under new regulations announced in 2007 Sino-foreign joint ventures must show a track record of five years’ unblemished service before being able to expand their activities.

Credit Suisse is building its investment banking presence in the Andes. The Swiss house is adding an executive in Bogotá and is on the lookout for a person in Lima to bolster client coverage. The group has been aggressive in the region for the past 12 months and wants to consolidate its position. Credit Suisse took part in a series of high-profile deals in 2007, including the $2.8 billion privatization IPO of Ecopetrol, as well as deals for some first-time issuers such as Peruvian fishmeal company Copeinca.

Credit Suisse launched its Merlin platform for FX options in early December. The system, which the bank has used internally since 2006, allows clients to structure, price and execute complex, multi-legged exotic option transactions online. Credit Suisse says Merlin is completely automated and works on a request-for-quote basis. It adds that the platform has significantly sped up the pricing of complex structures – on average, it takes just 15 seconds to obtain a quote – and that it is now able to process far more trades.

Credit Suisse has appointed Michael Fouad Chahine as global head of Islamic banking distribution. The bank is expanding its platform to distribute Shariah-compliant products. Chahine, who will be based in Dubai, will coordinate the existing Islamic banking businesses across Credit Suisse’s investment banking, private banking and asset management divisions to build a distribution centre in Dubai. Chahine has been with Credit Suisse since 2000. Most recently he was head of strategic initiatives in Dubai.

Credit Suisse is launching a $2.5 billion fund for investment in property. It joins an already extensive list of private equity funds raising cash for the sector. These include Morgan Stanley’s $8 billion fund and private equity fund Blackstone Group’s $10 billion fund. The bank started to market the fund at the end of April and intends to use it for investment globally as it attempts to tap growing investor appetite for geographical diversification in property investment.

Bank hires entire team of Ritchie Capital Management in Hong Kong.

Appointment shows growing importance of Asia for business and for career growth.

Summary table of top banks, with quick links to more related content on euromoney.com

Excellence in its debt and equity business combined with a solid M&A platform means that Credit Suisse stands out from its rivals.

Will these structures stand the test of time?

The Swiss bank is making determined efforts to grow its US private banking business.

The name has changed but the business has not. Credit Suisse has demoted its First Boston heritage to a passing reference in its new logo, but it is far from jettisoning its US investment banking expertise. In January, it announced an expansion of its Asian leveraged finance team with three new hires in Australia, Hong Kong and Japan. Once this is complete, Credit Suisse will boast Asia’s largest leveraged finance team.

After losing out to its nemesis UBS in last year’s poll, Credit Suisse has reclaimed its title as best private bank in Switzerland. The bank attributes its success to the completion of a two-year root and branch reform of its core advisory process. “We started with in-house research that simply asked our advisors how they would define the Credit Suisse advisory process,” says Arthur Vayloyan, head of private banking in Switzerland at Credit Suisse. “What we found, which is probably what you would find in a lot of companies, was that when you ask 10 different people you get 10 different answers. This was a strong indication that we had to become much more rigorous about our advisory process. ‘We’ meant all of us, starting at the top; because it’s important for us to set an example and to be able to be a correcting factor, if necessary. Vayloyan: a more rigorous approach“Our advice strategy was a real step forward. At first we had internal resistance. It was such a basic thing that it raised a lot of eyebrows. People were asking: ‘We’ve been doing this very well for 150 years so why do we need to change?’ But the market changes every day so we needed to change too. Now if you ask our bankers: ‘What is the Credit Suisse advisory process?’ you get a much more coherent answer. It is key that our clients are all treated by the same standards but focussing on their individual needs when they first come to the bank."

Back to Brady Dougan's new old plan for CSFB

Credit Suisse Group is to restructure again. This time, the plan includes a closer integration of investment banking arm CSFB with the rest of the group. Antony Currie looks hard for changes in the revised strategy for CSFB itself and speaks to its CEO, Brady Dougan, about them. He seems to be reheating his predecessor's plans for the firm, which has spent months reviewing its business without making a great deal of progress.

Credit Suisse First Boston has appointed Robert (Bob) Ferguson as a managing director in European High Yield Sales. He will be based in London, reporting to Derrick Herndon, head of European High Yield Sales and Trading, and will join CSFB in early November.

Last month, Euromoney reported on the challenges facing CSFB CEO John Mack in rebuilding the firm's global investment banking franchise after three years' cost-cutting and damage limitation. Other banks' earnings and share prices had powered ahead. Mack had unveiled plans to double profits in three years. He won't be around to see them through. Late last month he was pushed out. What happened?

It has taken three years to rein in costs and regulatory risks at CSFB. Now, at last, CEO John Mack is looking forward and wants to double profits by the end of 2006. Does the Swiss-American investment bank have what it takes?

CSFB is overhauling its M&A operations, creating a standalone group and appointing new management.

When John Mack (pictured right) was brought in as CEO to turn around Credit Suisse First Boston more than three years ago, he offered a simple diagnosis. "We don't have a revenue problem, we have a cost problem," he said. That might have been so then. But in trying to cut costs, has the former Morgan Stanley CEO created a revenue problem that wasn't there before?

Asia's high-net-worth individuals are getting richer quicker than those anywhere else. Wealth management has never been so competitive in the region but is a potential goldmine for the smartest bankers. Chris Leahy reports.

UBS Wealth Management, Sarasin, Bordier & Cie, Credit Suisse Private Banking, Coutts, Bank Privat, Degroof, Mandatum, SG Private Banking, Sal Oppenheim, CenE Bankiers, Banif, Cuatrecasas, Carnegie, Citco, Man Group, Noriba, UBS, PwC.

The very richest clients of private banks are natural candidates for the services of investment banks. Hence the big banks' efforts to foster links across their own activities. Welcome to the world of the double-sided business card. Mark Brown reports.

Let's hope John Mack is not too downhearted at his failure to lure his old friend Walid Chammah away from Morgan Stanley. It would appear to be the first setback the chief executive of CSFB has had since replacing Allen Wheat last July.

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Talks on the restructuring of GKOs - Russian treasury bills on which the government defaulted last August - have once more been cast into disarray just days before a deadline imposed by the Russian finance ministry was due to expire.

Credit Suisse First Boston's acquisition of BZW's equities and corporate advisory divisions at the start of the year was a quite coup for the Swiss bank (and cheap at twice the price the bank paid £100 million). At a stroke, the Swiss bank had suddenly become one of the top equity brokers in the UK, ranking second so far, up from 15th last year.

Different ways to skin a cat