[Photo:  Credit Suisse Building in Zurich;  Matthias Zepper / Wikimedia Commons]

 

When Credit Suisse’s CEO Tidjane Thiam launched Credit Suisse’s new strategy in October last year, he said that wealth management for ultra-high-net-worth individuals was not just about “taking them out for lunch”. Clients in this division are “very demanding”, he said, and they want long-term growth of their assets. Invariably, he said, this means demanding investment banking services.

Credit Suisse is hiring investment bankers to provide services for billionaires.Credit Suisse’s new ultra-high-net worth (UHNW) coverage group in the U.S. is headed up by Charlie Buckley, who joined from UBS in September. Andrew Frankle, the former head of the business development group in Citi’s institutional clients group, just joined Credit Suisse as a managing director in its UHNW coverage group. He spent nearly 17 years at Citigroup before joining Credit Suisse as a managing director in November.

Frankles’ appointment shows that Credit Suisse is (slowly) expanding the group that will provide investment banking services to very rich people. Global wealth is skewed towards these UHNW individuals and more than ever they don’t simply want investment advice. Credit Suisse’s division will not offer traditional wealth management services – it closed this division in the U.S. last year – but instead will focus on M&A, loans and capital markets advice to families, family investment firms, entrepreneurs and business owners. Oil and gas, biotech and telecommunications will be the main target sectors.

JPMorgan launched a similar service in its corporate and investment bank in 2015.