Bank of Ireland's Francesca McDonagh appointed as COO of Credit Suisse

By Silke Koltrowitz, Reuters

Credit Suisse has promoted Francesca McDonagh to chief operating officer as the Swiss lender's new boss overhauls the top ranks.

Ms McDonagh, already announced as chief executive of the EMEA region, will, as COO, support the chief executive Ulrich Koerner in the steering and strategic development of the group including operational and cost transformation, the bank said.

Mr Koerner, the latest in a string of chief executives at Credit Suisse, is trying to put the bank back on track after years of scandal and losses.

Ms McDonagh, a London-born Oxford University graduate who is of Irish descent, was Bank of Ireland’s first woman chief executive when she was appointed in October 2017 to succeed Richie Boucher. She previously worked in a variety of senior roles for HSBC. She steps down from her Bank of Ireland role in September.

Her departure is widely understood to be linked to ongoing caps on pay and bonuses at Irish financial institutions.

Mr Koerner, who took over the top spot at Credit Suisse last month, is expected to scale back investment banking and cut costs. The investment bank recorded a pretax loss of 1.12 billion Swiss francs (€1.17 billion) in the second quarter and was expected to lose money again this quarter.