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Credit Suisse's new CEO took a 70% pay cut to join the bank

Will Martin   

Credit Suisse's new CEO took a 70% pay cut to join the bank
Finance2 min read

Prudential Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam speaks at the Institute of Directors annual convention in London September 18, 2013..

Reuters

Prudential Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam speaks at the Institute of Directors annual convention in London September 18, 2013.

Tidjane Thiam, the CEO of Credit Suisse, took a pay cut of more than 70% when he joined the bank in July 2015.

According to Credit Suisse's annual report, released on Thursday, Thiam earned 1.58 million Swiss francs (£1.15 million) in the first six months he worked at the bank, along with a bonus of 2.86 million francs (£2.08 million).

For the year that works out at 4.57 million francs (£3.32 million), nowhere near as much as Thiam earned during his final year in his previous job as CEO of insurance group Prudential.

The Financial Times reports that in his final year at Prudential, Thiam's total pay packet, paid in sterling, was £11.8 million, which works out at roughly 16.5 million francs.

Thiam's arrival at Credit Suisse has coincided with a very weak period for the bank. Shares have fallen more than 40% since he arrived, and in February, the bank reported its first annual loss since the financial crisis, as well as thousands of job cuts.

Here's how shares have performed since Thiam joined the bank:

thiam cs

Investing.com

Thiam asked Credit Suisse's board to cut his bonus by as much as 50% to show solidarity with colleagues, and reflect the bank's challenges. In total, the bank's global markets bonus pool shrunk by 36% in 2015. At the time, Thiam said "I proposed to the board to markedly reduce my bonus. My cut is the biggest within the management team."

On Wednesday, Credit Suisse announced that trading revenues in Q1 of 2016 are set to fall as much as 45%, and that it is accelerating its programme of cuts, including slashing 2,000 additional jobs in its global markets division.

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