CEO Thomas Gottstein is heading back to the drawing board for a redo of Credit Suisse's structure, Swiss banking blog «Inside Paradeplatz» (in German) reported on Thursday. The bank chief of five months envisions a reduction of Credit Suisse units – currently five – to as little as three, the blog speculates.

Gottstein wants to present the fruits of his labor on July 30, when the bank reports its second-quarter results. A statement from Credit Suisse foments speculation: «We're constantly evaluating ways to advise our clients better and to reach our strategic targets profitably,» a spokesman said.

Reversing Regional Set-Up

He added that Credit Suisse is in «constant dialogue» with its investors, which include Harris Associates, a French-owned U.S.-based asset manager. Harris stands out as a vocal backer of ousted CEO Tidjane Thiam, though the fund house wasn't able to marshall enough support to keep him in the job.

Gottstein, who took over from Thiam mid-February, is contemplating changes within the units as well, two sources familiar with the planning told finews.com: for example, its flagship private banking unit may reduce from eight units – northern Europe, southern Europe, emerging Europe, Middle East, Africa head, Brazil, wider Latin America, and a growing affluent business. A final decision hasn't yet been taken, the people indicated.