Brady Dougan, chief executive of Credit Suisse First Boston, believes there is little difference between investment banking and private bank...

Brady Dougan, chief executive of Credit Suisse First Boston, believes there is little difference between investment banking and private banking, according to an interview he gave a Credit Suisse internal publication. Asked about Credit Suisse’s current “one bank” integration, Mr Dougan said: “The core business investment banking and private banking is very similar — it is simply conducted on a different institutional level.” He further added that the principles of investment banking and private banking are the same. “However, the financing of major construction projects throughout the history of mankind, as well as the whole process of industrialization, were largely beyond the financial means of private individuals. Accordingly, there has always been a need for financial specialists with good networks of contacts.” Mr Dougan and other top managers at Credit Suisse are currently in the process of preaching the “one bank” integration philosophy, which has been adopted since the end of last year on the back of restructuring efforts. Jeremy Marshall, head of Credit Suisse in the UK, has talked about the “private investment banking” model, which appears to be a hybrid merging of investment banking with private banking. In an interview he gave to the Financial Times earlier this week, Mr Marshall said: “There are many excellent private banks in the UK and investment banks with a private client business. But as far as I am aware there is no one who has penetrated so deeply into making sure the two work together.”