Credit Suisse Chairman to Quit, Remain as CEO

Credit Suisse Group said Lukas Muehlemann will step down as chairman and Switzerland’s second-largest bank may report a loss for the first half of the year.

The Zurich-based company, parent of U.S. brokerage giant CS First Boston, also replaced Thomas Wellauer, 46, the head of banking and insurance, amid “substantial losses” at the firm’s Winterthur Insurance unit. Credit Suisse called Oswald Gruebel, 59, out of retirement to run the business.

“The market wants to see a few scalps,” said Henry Rising, a fund manager at Christows Ltd.

Muehlemann, 52, who will remain as chief executive, has been criticized for his acquisitions in recent years, and for CS First Boston’s $100-million settlement with U.S. regulators earlier this year over allegations of initial public stock offering manipulation.