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Credit Suisse was founded by Alfred Escher in 1856 under the name Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (SKA, Swiss Credit Institution). The bank is organized into three divisions, Investment Banking, Private Banking, and Asset Management. Shared Services, which includes functions such as IT, marketing and legal/compliance, encompasses all three major areas. Credit Suisse is considered to be within the prestigious "bulge bracket" of investment banks whom. The firm earned accolades throughout the recent financial crises for prudent risk management and strategic allocation of capital. It also gained prestige for being one of the few major international banks to weather the crisis without any direct government support. In 2009, Credit Suisse was recognized as "Bank of the Year" by the International Financing Review. In 1942, it opened its first branch outside of Switzerland, in New York City. In 1988, it gained a controlling stake in The First Boston Corporation, hence the long-time name of its investment banking unit Credit Suisse First Boston. In 1993, Credit Suisse Group bought Schweizerische Volksbank (People's Bank of Switzerland). In 1996 the two retail banks were merged and renamed Credit Suisse. In 2000, it acquired the investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) and, with it, an e-commerce software portfolio, including DLJ Direct, that it later sold to the Bank of Montreal. |
