ZURICH/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Credit Suisse's new chief executive told staff in a memo on Wednesday that the Swiss bank needs a strong balance sheet to help it through rough times and the discipline to decide where it wants to invest.
Tidjane Thiam, 52, started work as CEO of Credit Suisse on Wednesday and investors are optimistic he can bring about a major change of strategy at the bank, though many also expect him to tap the market for cash.
"We will need a strong balance sheet that allows us to withstand adversity, while continuing to invest in the future," Thiam says in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
Choosing what the bank will do and where it invests its capital would be a clear focus in the weeks and months ahead, Thiam said, adding he would determine the strategy later this year. A spokesman confirmed the contents of the memo.
(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels and by Katharina Bart ande Joshua Franklin in Zurich; Editing by Michael Shields)