Philip Vasan, global head of Prime Brokerage at Credit Suisse, is leaving the post to run the firms private bank division in the Americas.
Vasan will be replaced by Paul Germain, who had been a Goldman Sachs partner and co-head of its Global Securities Services business until Vasan recruited him to Credit Suisse in 2010. Germain most recently was U.S. head of sales for the Prime Brokerage division.
The moves were initially reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited an internal memo, and confirmed to GC by a source with knowledge of the leadership changes.
Vasan, a GC Legend, steered Credit Suisse to the top of Global Custodians Prime Brokerage Survey in 2009, bumping mainstays Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley down the list following the financial crisis.
In early 2009, word got out about the so-called CS400, a Credit Suisse list of the best hedge funds it wants as clients. In a Winter 2009 article in Global Custodian, Vasan explained: “As soon as that word got out, we started fielding phone calls from clients asking if they were on the list, and if not, how to get on the list.
He explained that the business is set up “almost like a hedge fund of fund,” in that it seeks what he calls “long-term winners,” or hedge funds he feels would do better working with Credit Suisse. At that point, Vasan said, Credit Suisse was selecting less than 50% of potential hedge fund clients. “We’ve tried to look at the hedge funds’ prospects for success, as well as the best practices around what they do. So we’ve moved early to think about best practices as well as performance being equally important, and that’s informed a lot of our strategy and who we pick.
Click here for a 2009 GCTV video featuring Vasan discussing the CS400.
Anthony DeChellis, current head of the Credit Suisse private bank in the Americas, will be stepping down. Vasan will take on the new role next month.
(CG)