"I'm using the current challenging environment to accelerate the transformation that I'm driving," Thiam told a conference in Miami, which was streamed via Credit Suisse's website, adding that it is a not a great time to be a bank after several days of steep share price falls.

Last week Credit Suisse reported its first full-year loss since 2008 after booking a large impairment charge at its investment banking business, sending its share price tumbling and piling pressure on Thiam.

(Reporting by Joshua Franklin and John Miller; Editing by David Goodman)