ZURICH, Switzerland, April 30, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The shareholders of Credit Suisse Group have approved all the motions proposed by the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting of April 30, 2004.The shareholders approved the proposed par value reduction of CHF 0.50 per share, in lieu of a dividend, which will be paid out on July 12, 2004. The Annual General Meeting also approved all other motions proposed by the Board of Directors, including the proportional amendment of the right to request the inclusion of an item on the agenda, in line with the reduced par value of the share.
In his speech, Walter B. Kielholz, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated, "It gives me great satisfaction to see that we have achieved considerable progress towards realizing Credit Suisse Group's strategic priorities that were defined last year and have successfully completed the turnaround. Particularly pleasing is the fact that all of the Group's businesses contributed to this performance. We can now once again turn our full attention to the future and to the opportunities it offers."
Noreen Doyle, David W. Syz and Peter F. Weibel were newly elected to the Board of Directors. The shareholders confirmed the early re-election -- for a further three years -- of the current Members of the Board Thomas D. Bell and Aziz R. D. Syriani, whose term would have run until the Annual General Meeting 2005. This enables the terms of the Members of the Board of Directors to be staggered effectively, thus ensuring continuity. Marc-Henri Chaudet, a Member of the Board of Directors since 1997, stepped down at today's Annual General Meeting. The Board of Directors wishes to thank him for his valuable contribution to the company. A list of the Members of the Board of Directors is attached. The speeches by Walter B. Kielholz, Oswald J. Grubel and John J. Mack are available on the Internet at: www.credit-suisse.com
Enquiries Credit Suisse Group, Media Relations Telephone +41 1 333 8844 Credit Suisse Group, Investor Relations Telephone +41 1 333 4570
Credit Suisse Group Credit Suisse Group is a leading global financial services company headquartered in Zurich. The business unit Credit Suisse Financial Services provides private clients and small and medium-sized companies with private banking and financial advisory services, banking products, and pension and insurance solutions from Winterthur. The business unit Credit Suisse First Boston, an investment bank, serves global institutional, corporate, government and individual clients in its role as a financial intermediary. Credit Suisse Group's registered shares (CSGN) are listed in Switzerland and in the form of American Depositary Shares (CSR) in New York. The Group employs around 60,800 staff worldwide. As of December 31, 2003, it reported assets under management of CHF 1,199.0 billion.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. In addition, in the future we, and others on our behalf, may make statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements relating to our plans, objectives or goals; our future economic performance or prospects; the potential effect on our future performance of certain contingencies; and assumptions underlying any such statements.
Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends" and "plans" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. We do not intend to update these forward-looking statements except as may be required by applicable laws.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that predictions, forecasts, projections and other outcomes described or implied in forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include (i) market and interest rate fluctuations; (ii) the strength of the global economy in general and the strength of the economies of the countries in which we conduct our operations in particular; (iii) the ability of counterparties to meet their obligations to us; (iv) the effects of, and changes in, fiscal, monetary, trade and tax policies, and currency fluctuations; (v) political and social developments, including war, civil unrest or terrorist activity; (vi) the possibility of foreign exchange controls, expropriation, nationalization or confiscation of assets in countries in which we conduct our operations; (vii) the ability to maintain sufficient liquidity and access capital markets; (viii) operational factors such as systems failure, human error, or the failure to properly implement procedures; (ix) actions taken by regulators with respect to our business and practices in one or more of the countries in which we conduct our operations; (x) the effects of changes in laws, regulations or accounting policies or practices; (xi) competition in geographic and business areas in which we conduct our operations; (xii) the ability to retain and recruit qualified personnel; (xiii) the ability to maintain our reputation and promote our brands; (xiv) the ability to increase market share and control expenses; (xv) technological changes; (xvi) the timely development and acceptance of our new products and services and the perceived overall value of these products and services by users; (xvii) acquisitions, including the ability to integrate successfully acquired businesses; (xviii) the adverse resolution of litigation and other contingencies; and (xix) our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing.
We caution you that the foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive; when evaluating forward-looking statements, you should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and events, as well as the risks identified in our most recently filed Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K furnished to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Members of the Board of Directors
Walter B. Kielholz (1), Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (1) (2), Vice-Chairman Hans-Ulrich Doerig (1) (4), Vice-Chairman Thomas W. Bechtler (4) Thomas D. Bell (3) Robert H. Benmosche (2) Noreen Doyle (4) Aziz R. D. Syriani (1) (2) (3) David W. Syz (3) Ernst Tanner (4) Peter F. Weibel (1) (3)
(1) Member of the Chairman's and Governance Committee, chaired by Walter B. Kielholz (2) Member of the Compensation Committee, chaired by Aziz R. D. Syriani (3) Member of the Audit Committee, chaired by Peter F. Weibel (4) Member of the Risk Committee, chaired by Hans-Ulrich Doerig
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